Riley Carter Harvelle
by Marloweee1856
Summary: Riley Harvelle, a smart, young, devious hunter takes over her father's "business" after he dies on a supposed hunt. She now travels the world and works at her Aunt Ellen's roadhouse part time. After a trip to England, she comes back home to the roadhouse and finds the famous Winchester brothers there. This should be interesting... (Set in season two)
1. Chapter 1

**_A Supernatural Story:_**

**Riley Carter Harvelle**

**DOB**: April 4th, 1986

**Mother**: Carter Ann Bello (_diseased 1986_)

**Father**: Brian Michael Harvelle (_diseased 2002_)

* * *

**A/N**: _H__ello, everyone! Another Supernatural fanfic for you! This story begins in the second episode of season two, Everybody Loves a Clown. My OC is also a Harvelle girl; she is Ellen's niece and cousin/best friend of Jo's. As the story proceeds, you'll learn more about Riley's past and what her story is! Hope you enjoy!_

_The story is in third point of view and will be switching back and forth between Riley and the Harvelles and the Winchesters._

_I kinda came up with this out of the blue. Thought it was something a bit different than your usual sisfic or OC pop up on a random case, although, if I do plan to continue this story, Riley would run into the boys occasionally. She is a hunter after all. Lol. But one thing I like about this particular story I've come up with is her whole backstory. As the story continues, you'll learn more about Riley's past and how she became the person she is in the story! So it's up to you to follow, favorite, and review if you like it and want me to continue! _

* * *

**Summary**: _Riley Harvelle, a smart, young, devious hunter takes over her father's "business" after he dies on a supposed hunt. She now travels the world and works part time at her Aunt Ellen's roadhouse part time. After a trip to England, she comes back home to the roadhouse and finds the famous Winchester brothers there. This should be interesting..._

* * *

_**About my OC: **_

_Riley Harvelle is portrayed by the actress __Shelley Hennig_

_Riley is a twenty year old girl who had taken over her father's business he does for those who got sucked in the crap-hole of a life they call being a hunter. She travels around the world giving information, pendants, protection, exorcisms, rituals—anything that can help a person fight and protect themselves from the supernatural._

* * *

**_Prologue:_**

Twenty year old, Riley Harvelle lugged her suitcase and readjusted her duffle bag on her shoulder. She walked out the airport exit and took a deep breath; inhaling the air of Nebraska. A small smile crept on her face. She was finally _home_.

She walked towards the street and waved her hand for a taxi. From there, she would get a ride to town, stop at a diner to pick up breakfast, then hot-wire whatever car seemed fit and drive back to the roadhouse.

* * *

The Winchesters pulled up to the Roadhouse Saloon and took in the area. The place was in the middle of nowhere and from the outside, it looked almost abandoned. Sam and Dean approached the door and took quick glances of each other before knocking on the door.

Dean knocked again, "hello? Anybody here?" He said loudly, hoping to get the attention of someone who was inside. But no one had answered. Dean looked at his brother with his brows slightly raised, "hey you got the, uh..." He trailed off.

Sam had already understood what his brother was asking and nodded his head, "of course." He pulled his lock pick set from his pocket and began working on opening the lock to the front door.

They walked inside and quietly looked around. The saloon was silent except for a fly buzzing in the thick air and the sound of a light bulb that just blew out. The two looked at each other before walking towards the back and both their eyes catch a man passed out on the pool table, gently snoring.

Dean raised a brow questionably and Sam took a couple steps closer to the man, "hey, buddy?" He called out but got no response. He turned around to face his older brother, "I'm guessing that isn't Ellen."

Dean only shrugged his shoulders, "yeah."

Sam walks off into another room to look around. Dean heads his way, but he stops in his tracks when he felt the head of a gun touch his lower back. He closes his eyes, "oh god, please let that be a rifle," he joked.

He heard the gun cock and then a voice of a young woman spoke, voice dripping with the same amount of sarcasm as him, "no. I'm just real happy to see you. Don't move."

"Not moving, copy that," Dean said, raising his hands up in the air. "You know, you should know something, miss," he informed the woman who held a rifle to his back. "When you put a rifle on someone, you don't want to put it right against their back. Because it makes it real easy to do—" he spun around quickly and easily snatched the rifle out of the girl's hands, cocking it, "—that."

Dean was certainly not expecting a fist to his face. He dropped the rifle and doubled over in pain, holding his nose, "Sam! Need some help in here," he shouted for his brother when he glanced at the woman who once again had the rife cocked, aiming right at him. He closed his eyes and muttered that he couldn't see to himself several times over until the back door opened, revealing the youngest Winchester with his hands on his head.

He walked inside at a slow pace and took in his brother's appearance before speaking, "sorry Dean, I can't right now. I'm a little tied up," he said tightly and nodded his head backwards where a middle aged woman had a handgun pointed to his head.

The woman frowned and faltered slightly, "Sam?" She questioned. "Dean? Winchester?"

Both brothers replied in unison, "yeah."

"Son of a bitch," the woman said, dropping her handgun to the side.

The young woman did the same and put her rifle down to her side and looked at her mother questionably, "mom, you know these guys?"

She nodded her head and a smile began to form on her face as she looked at both of the boys, "yeah, I think these are John Winchester's boys," she said as a mater-of-fact. "Hey, I'm Ellen. This is my daughter, Jo." She introduced.

Dean looked at Jo when she greeted him with a "hey" and a slight nod, "you're not gonna hit me again, are you?" He asked hesitantly. He watched Ellen from the corner of his eye get a small towel that she filled with ice and pass it to him, "here you go."

He took it, "thanks," he nodded his head slightly and then asked what they had originally came there for, "you called our dad, said you could help. Help with what?" Dean said gruffly, clearly in no mood to talk to anyone at the moment.

Ellen smiled slightly, furrowing her brows and looked at Dean, "well, the demon, of course! I heard he was closing in on it," she said.

"What? Was there an article in the Demon Hunters Quarterly that I missed? I mean, who, who are you?" Dean asked, anger and frustration rising, "how do you know all this?"

Ellen seemed like she had enough with the elder Winchester's attitude and she bit right back with her response. "Hey, I just run a saloon. But hunters have been known to pass through now and again. Including your dad a long time ago." She told him and his brother. "John was like family once."

"Oh yeah? How come he never mentioned you before?" Dean snarled out.

"You'd have to ask him that," Ellen retorted.

"So why exactly do we need your help?" Dean said, once again, attitude flaring.

Ellen snapped, "Hey, don't do me any favors. Look, if you don't want my help, fine. Don't let the door smack your ass on the way out. But John wouldn't have sent you if..." Realization hit quick. John Winchester did not send his two sons here. "He didn't send you..." She said quietly.

Dean bowed his head and glanced back at Sam before turning his attention back to Ellen when she spoke up, hesitant, "he's alright, isn't he?"

Sam was the once who answered this time. Voice quiet, "No. No, he isn't. It was the demon, we think. It, um, it just got him before he got it, I guess."

Ellen looked at the boys in sympathy, "I'm so sorry."

Dean only replied, his gruff bravado, "It's okay. We're all right."

"Really?" Ellen asked, clearly not convinced. "I know how close you and your dad were—" she was abruptly cut off when Dean assured her with a curt attitude, "really, lady, I'm fine."

Sam took over on the conversation before it could escalate any further, "So look, if you can help, we could use all the help we can get." He said pleadingly.

Ellen sighed, but then a small smirk appeared on her face, "Well, we can't. But Ash will."

Sam's brows furrowed, "Who's Ash?"

"Ash!"

The man who was sprawled out on the pool table jerked awake, clearly started at Ellen's screeching voice. He looked around him with wide confused eyes, clearly hungover from the night before. His eyes locked on Ellen, "what? It closin' time?"

Sam gawked at Ash and looked at Ellen, clearly not convinced that this man could help them find a way to hunt down the demon who put them all through so much pain and grief, "that's Ash?"

Jo smirked and nodded her head as they all looked at Ash, "mm-hmm. He's a genius."

The front door swung open revealing a petite young woman. She smiled when her eyes met with Jo. She flung her duffle on the closest table and threw her arms out in the air, "Joanna Beth! Momma is home!" She said with what was clearly a fake British accent, which only made Jo laugh. The girl received strange looks from the brothers, an unimpressed look from Ellen, and a smirk from Ash.

"Riley! You're back!" Jo squealed as she ran up to her cousin and engulfed her in a massive hug. "I missed you, girl."

Riley laughed and nodded her head, "me too."

"How was your trip to the UK, Riles?" Ash spoke up, leaning against the pool table.

"Oh! Absolutely amazing! Grub was good! And the scenery was just darling!" Riley continued speaking with her horrible accent, "flogging those pendants over seas is definitely quite the experience! The Brits are very generous when it comes to pay—"

She was abruptly cut off by Ellen's stern voice, "Riley." She gave her a look that said 'cut it out.'

She smiled sheepishly and spoke normally, "sorry, Aunt Ellen." Riley seemed to realize that the usual suspects weren't the only people in the saloon this morning. Her brows rose slightly as she looked at the two boys sitting on the stools at the bar, "Oh! Hi." She waved cheerfully. Riley was always just a ray of sunshine.

Dean stared at her with a strange, perturbed look on his face while Sam actually smiled a real smile for the first time since his father died. Ellen motioned the boys, "Riley, this is Sam and Dean. John Winchester's boys." She introduced. "That's my niece Riley."

A small smile played on her lips while she held out a hand to Dean who took it hesitantly, "pleasure to meet you both."

After shaking both their hands she made her way to her duffle that she had thrown on one of the tables, "Ash! Picked this up for you." She pulled out a silver chain that held a skull charm on it. "Made of silver too." She smiled and placed it in his hand.

He stared at it in awe before looking back down at the girl, "I love you, woman. Marry me?" He got down on one knee and held her hand. Riley snorted and shook her head, "Sorry Ash. The answer is still no." She joked.

"Ah well, can't say I didn't try." Ash muttered, smirk still never leaving his face.

* * *

A brown folder that was clearly overflown with papers and notes was dumped on the bar where Sam and Ash sat while Dean stood behind them. Jo and Riley were on the opposite side of the bar, Jo pouring the boys glasses of water and Riley strapping on her apron. She really did miss the place. No matter where she traveled, the roadhouse would always be home to her.

"You've gotta be kidding me, this guy's no genius. He's a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie," Dean said as he stared at Ash. He seriously doubted that the man who had a mullet would be able to make anything out of their father' notes he had on the demon. There was just no way.

Ash smiled at Dean, "I like you."

Dean, ever one with the sarcasm, "thanks."

"Just give him a chance," Jo said, staring at Dean. He gave in with a sigh and sat down with his brother and Ash and opened the folder.

"All right. This stuff's about a year's worth of our dad's work, so uh, let's see what you make of it," Dean said and pushed the folder over to Ash who gladly took it. He pulled out all the papers, looking at each document carefully and in slight shock. He shook his head and looked at Dean, unconvinced, "come on. This crap ain't real. There ain't nobody that can trap a demon like this."

Sam looked at him with his puppy eyes, "our dad could," he said softly, defending his father.

Ash went on, talking as he looked through everything that was now scattered on the bar, "There are non-parametrics, statistical overviews, prospects and correlations, I mean.. damn! They're signs. Omens. Uh, if you can track 'em, you can track this demon. You know, like crop failures, electrical storms... You ever been struck by lightening? It ain't fun."

Riley snorted and shook her head. She remembered that story and till this day, she could not understand how Ash was still alive. That wasn't even close to the stupidest things this guy has done since he knew her.

"Can you track it or not?" Sam asked, starting to lose whatever patience he had left.

Ash nodded, assured, "yeah, with this, I think so. But it's gonna take time, uh, give me..." He trailed off, thinking of how long it could take to create a program where he could track all the specific omens John Winchester had put together, "fifty one hours..." Ash glanced at Riley who was cleaning down the bar, "maybe fifty two, Riley, you free?" He asked with a smirk.

She gave him a seductive smile and leaned in towards him as if she was going to kiss him; then she smacked him with the bar rag, "no," she deadpanned, which caused everyone else but Ash to laugh.

Defeated, Ash got up to leave, but Dean called out to him, probably to bust his chops a little more. Dean smirked slightly and tilted his head, "I, uh, I dig the hair cut." Riley internally groaned, _don't get him started on the hair..._

As if he read her mind, Ash had a full on grin plastered on his face, he pushed his hair back passionately and let his fingers slide through it as he spoke, "all business up front, party in the back."

Riley shook her head, "dear god," she muttered and Sam smiled at her. Riley and Jo met eyes and it looked like they were having a silent conversation that only ended with Riley snorting a laugh and rolling her eyes. Both she and Sam watched Jo taunt Dean flirtatiously and not a minute later did Dean follow behind her.

Ellen pulled a file out and passed it to Riley, "here honey, since you're back, I got something for you to do. I know you don't like to be cooped up in here all the time," she told her niece knowingly. Riley smiled and took the case file from her aunt and leaned on the bar to open the file.

Sam, ever the curious one, squinted his eyes slightly and leaned closer to Riley and the file, "what is that?"

She only shrugged, "possible case...huh...weird." She stared at the newspaper clippings that were attached to the front of the file and in bright red marker was written:

COUPLE MURDERED

CHILD LEFT WLIVE

MEDFORD, WISCONSIN

Riley saw the interest in Sam's eyes and she turned the file around so it was facing him, "check this out," she said as she pointed to the file.

His brows furrowed as he read through the articles in the file, "yeah this is definitely our kind of thing," he said, not looking up from the papers.

Riley looked at Sam for a long moment, "well, uh, do you and your brother wanna take it?" She asked. Riley could clearly see that he and his brother were looking for a distraction while they waited for Ash to finish up doing whatever the hell that he was doing. Jo had briefly filled her in when she settled in earlier that the famous John Winchester's clock had finally punched out, most likely because of the demon he and his family have been hunting for the last twenty years.

"Really?" Sam asked with his wide puppy dog eyes that nobody could ever say no to.

She smiled, "case is yours, Sam."

He returned the smile and thanked her before heading off in his brother's direction where he had been talking to Jo.

It had been her case to take, but she didn't mind giving it to Sam and Dean. She can hunt later. Riley wanted to catch up with her cousin/best friend. It had been a very long two months without her.

While Sam and Riley were looking over the case file, Dean and Jo were sitting next to each other near the window. He glanced at Jo and spoke, "how did your mom get into this stuff anyway? He asked curiously.

He watched Jo raise a brow before she answered, "from my dad," she said simply. "He was a hunter. He passed away."

"I'm sorry," Dean said, understanding what that pain felt like. "What about Riley?"

Jo sighed, "it was a long time ago. I was just a kid. And my dad and Riley's father were brothers, both deep into the business," she explained. After a quiet moment, Jo spoke again, "sorry to hear about your dad."

Not in the mood to discuss the death of his father, Dean pushed the thoughts away the best way he knew how, "yeah. So. I guess I got fifty one hours to waste," he said with his usual smirk. "Maybe tonight we should, uh..." He trailed off, uncertain of what he was doing. His eyes met hers and he realized he couldn't go through with it, "no, you know what? Never mind."

Jo's brows furrowed deeply, surprised, "what?"

Dean shook his head, his eyes no longer able to meet hers, "nothing," he fumbled with his words, "just, uh, wrong place, wrong time."

Her brows then shot up, clearly stunned that he didn't hit on her like everyone usually does, "you know, I thought you were gonna toss me some cheap pickup line," Jo admitted.

Dean chuckled, slightly embarrassed and he then heard Jo say, "Most hunters come through that door think they can get in my pants with some... pizza, a six pack, and side one of Zeppelin IV."

Dean looked at her and shook his head, "well...what a bunch of scumbags."

"Not you," Jo stated, still surprised.

Dean pursed his lips "I guess not."

Sam approached his brother, stopping the awkward conversation between Jo and Dean from going any further, "Dean, look. Check this out," Sam said, handing the case file to him.

He barely glanced at it and looked back up to his brother, confused, "yeah?"

"A few murders, not far from here, that Ellen caught wind of. Riley said that it looks like a possible hunt," Sam said to his brother, ready to get moving.

Dean looked at his brother with an expression that basically said, _okay, and?_ "Yeah, so?" He asked.

"So...Riley gave us the case and I said that we'd check it out," was Sam's reply.

* * *

The brothers had driven far out down the road where nobody would really notice an abandoned minivan dumped on the side of the road. Why? Because that was exactly what they were doing. After the incident in the little girl's house, Dean feared that the parents may have spotted their license plate and report it to the police. With all that was going on, the last thing Dean wanted to deal with was the cops.

Sam grabbed the rest of his stuff from the minivan and followed after his brother, "you really think they saw our plates?" He questioned.

Dean shook his head, "I don't want to take the chance. Besides, I hate this friggin' thing anyway." It was true, a part of Dean could not wait to ditch the soccer mom mobile.

Both of them walked down the road with a few moments of quiet before Dean spoke up, "well, one thing's for sure."

Sam looked at his brother curiously, "what's that?"

"We're not dealing with a spirit," Dean said, convinced. "I mean, that rock salt hit something solid."

"Yeah, a person?" Sam asked. "Or maybe a creature that can make itself invisible?"

Dean gave a slight nod, "Yeah, and dresses up as a clown for kicks? You see anything in Dad's journal?"

"Nope." With that being said, Sam pulled out his cellphone, scrolling through his contacts.

Dean's brows furrowed slightly as he watched his brother searching on his phone, "who are you calling?"

"Maybe Ellen or that guy Ash'll know something," he told his brother. A sudden thought popped into his head, "Hey, you think, uh, you think dad and Ellen ever had a thing?"

"No way."

Sam frowned, "then why didn't he tell us about her?"

"I don't know, maybe they had some sort of falling out."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. Letting out a sigh, "you ever notice Dad had a falling out with just about everybody?"

Dean nodded his head numbly, clearly not interested with what his brother was saying. Sam lowered the phone and his hand fell to his side as he stared at his brother, concern in his eyes.

"Well, don't get all maudlin on me, man."

Dean narrowed his eyes at Sam.

"What do you mean?" He said.

"I mean this 'strong silent' thing of yours, it's crap!" Sam blurted out, clearly frustrated.

"Oh, god."

Sam continued his rant, "I'm over it. This isn't just anyone we're talking about, this is Dad. I know how you felt about the man."

Anger and grief building up inside of him, Dean snapped back at his little brother, "you know what, back off, all right? Just because I'm not caring and sharing like you want me to."

"No, no, no, that's not what this is about, Dean," Sam said. "I don't care how you deal with this. But you have to deal with it, man. Listen, I'm your brother, all right? I just want to make sure you're okay," he said sincerely.

"Dude, I'm okay. I'm okay, okay? I swear, the next person who asks me if I'm okay, I'm going to start throwing punches. These are your issues, quit dumping them on me!" Dean yelled.

"What are you talking about?"

Dean looked at his brother, expression hardened, "I just think it's really interesting, this sudden obedience you have to Dad. It's like, oh, what would Dad want me to do? Sam, you spent your entire life slugging it out with that man. I mean, hell, you, you picked a fight with him the last time you ever saw him. And now that he's dead, now you want to make it right? Well, I'm sorry Sam, but you can't, it's too little, too late."

"Why are you saying this to me?" Sam asked brokenly.

"Because I want you to be honest with yourself about this. I'm dealing with Dad's death! Are you?" Dean quipped.

Sam let out a shaky breath and dangled the phone in the air to show his brother, "I'm going to call Ellen," he said quietly and walked off, away from his brother. His words racing through his mind.

* * *

It was fairly quiet during the day. Usually the place was packed once it got dark; hunters would come in, order a couple of drinks and share stories of their previous hunt. Ash was currently locked away in his room doing whatever task the Winchester brothers asked of him. Ellen and Jo left on a supply run, which left Riley to run the saloon until they got back.

She rested her elbow on the bar, hand holding up her head, her back hunched over as she tiredly read through her father's hunting journal. She of course had a journal of her own, but it brought back memories when she read over her dad's notes. It made her feel closer to him in a way. She was in England for nearly two months. She was itching for a hunt, the clown case had originally been hers to take, Ellen had always kept her eyes open for possible cases and would give them to hunters who came by. But when she saw the desperation written on Sam's face, how could she tell him no? Ugh—the phone abruptly rang, pulling Riley out of her thoughts.

She groaned as she reached forward to grab the phone off the receiver, "roadhouse. This is Riley," she spoke, her tone clearly matching her mood.

_"Riley? Hi, it's Sam."_ She heard Sam's voice through the ear piece.

"Oh, hey Sam. How's the case going for ya?" She asked, seeming a little more cheerful than she was a moment ago.

Sam let out a dry laugh, _"ah–well, you know. It's hard to hunt a monster you don't know how to kill. That's what I'm actually calling you about..."_ He trailed off, sounding a little hesitant.

Riley felt a smile tug at her lips, "whatcha got so far?"

Sam went on to explain the entire investigation to Riley and she listened intently. Apparently whatever creature of the night was doing this had to be invited in, liked to eat people, and oh—turn invisible. She furrowed her brows as she heard Sam continue to give more details about the case. Why did all of that stuff sound familiar to her...? She glanced at her father's journal and smirked. Thank you, dad.

"Give me a sec." She muttered on the phone to Sam as she flipped the pages of the journal looking for a specific page with all the information she needed.

_December 18th, 1999._

_It's a week before Christmas and I'm still here with Urv trying to kill whatever monster it was this time. I swore to myself that after this case I'd be done. I would go home to my girl who is waiting over by Ellen's for me to get back. I promised her I'd be home for Christmas this year and I intended to keep that promise to her. I felt like she was growing more and more every time I lay my eyes on her. Thirteen years. Thirteen years since Carter died. It was so hard trying to explain to your daughter what happened to mommy and what hides in the dark. It kills me when I look at her. I see Carter in her everyday. I hope she'd be proud of the young woman Riley's become. I know I am._

_Urv and I have been researching in the library for what seemed to be hours upon hours. Something was eating people. Wasn't a werewolf; heart was still intact. Not a vampire getting sloppy; blood was there...well some of it._

_Rakshasa. That's what we were hunting. Disgusting things that they are. Rakshasas are creatures from Hindu mythology and are very nasty. They eat human flesh, sleep on a bed of dead insects and are great at shapeshifting. A rakshasa cannot enter a house without first being invited. They can easily become invisible, obtain super strength, and super senses. These guys can only be killed by anything that's made of brass._

_This ought to be fun._

"Rakshasa." Riley said.

Sam was silent for a long moment before hesitantly speaking up,_ "...bless you?"_

Riley snorted, "no. Rakshasa. It comes from Hindu mythology according to my dad's journal. He hunted one back in the day. Says the same clues as you had. Eating human flesh...being invited into a home..." She trailed off and made a slightly disgusted noise when she read over what it slept on, "well, one way to tell how it's the rakshasa, uhm, it sleeps on a bed of dead bugs." She grimaced.

_"Eww." _Sam said chuckling slightly. _"Alright, so how do we kill it?"_ He asked ready to get the show on the road.

"Find something brass and stab it—shoot it. I don't think it really matters, just as long as it's brass." Riley told him with a smirk on her face.

Sam sighed tiredly on the phone, nodding his head even though he knew that Riley couldn't see him,_ "okay. Thanks again, Riley."_

"Good luck." She said sweetly before she hung up the phone.

* * *

Sam quietly walked back, feeling a little better now that they knew what they were hunting thanks to Riley. He noticed his brother staring off once again into the distance. When he got close enough to Dean he told him exactly what Riley said.

"Rakshasa."

Dean turned his head to his brother with furrowed, confused brows, "what's that?"

"Riley's best guess," he responded. Sam relayed what she had told him over the phone, "It's a race of ancient Hindu creatures, they appear in human form, they feed on human flesh, they can make themselves invisible, and they cannot enter a home without first being invited."

"So they dress up like clowns, and the children invite them in."

Sam nodded his head slightly, "yeah."

"Why don't they just munch on the kids?" Dean questioned.

Sam shrugged, "no idea. Not enough meat on the bones, maybe?"

"What else'd you find out?"

Sam inwardly grimaced, remembering what Riley had said, "well, apparently, Rakshasas live in squalor. They sleep on a bed of dead insects."

"Nice," Dean said, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"Yeah, and they have to feed a few times every twenty or thirty years. Slow metabolism, I guess."

"Well, that makes sense," Dean agreed. "I mean, the Carnival today, the Bunker Brothers' in '81."

"Right. Probably more before that."

Dean had a sudden thought, "hey Sam, who do we know that worked both shows?.

"Cooper?"

"Cooper."

Sam looked at his brother, suspicion growing, "you know, that picture of his father, that looked just like him..

"You think maybe it was him?" Dean asked.

"Well, who knows how old he is?" Sam replied.

"Riley say how to kill him?" Dean questioned, already over this whole hunt.

"Legend goes, a dagger made of pure brass," Sam said. "But Riley said anything brass should probably work."

"I think I know where to get one of those," Dean said.

"Well, before we go stabbing things into Cooper, we're going to want to make damn sure it's him." Sam told his brother. Although he was pretty sure their monster was in fact Cooper, it never hurt to make sure.

Dean smirked, "oh, you're such a stickler for details, Sammy. All right, I'll round up the blade, you go check if Cooper's got bedbugs."

* * *

After finally killing the Rakshasa, which wasn't who they actually suspected, it turned out to be the blind guy. They had managed to get it in the funhouse where the brass pipe that was part of the organ inside. After being separated, running around the funhouse with no clue where the monster was, they finally ganked it and made their way back to the roadhouse to see what Ash had found.

Both brothers sat at the bar while Ellen put down two beers in front of them, "you boys did a hell of a job. Your dad would be proud."

Sam sent a small smile to her, "thanks."

Riley plopped her duffle on the table and made her way to the bar, "alright, I'm set, Aunt Ellen."

Ellen raised her brows, "Ash found you another case?" She asked.

Riley smiled, "yeah, I already called Jackson. He's heading over to Minnesota now. Looks like we got a wendigo on our hands," she said excitedly. "Is it weird to say I missed hunting American monsters? The ones back in England were just weird..."

Jo snorted and shook her head, "wow, Riley."

She simply shrugged her shoulders and smiled at Ellen who rolled her eyes and threw a rag at her, "give me a hand before you head out, would ya?"

She nodded her head and grabbed the rag off the bar, about to walk over to one of the tables when she saw Jo giving Sam a look.

Sam hesitated and looked between her and his brother getting the idea, "oh yeah, um, I've gotta... uh, I've gotta go. Over there. Right now," he fumbled with his words. He got up to walk away and sit at one of the tables.

Riley barely held back a laugh at her cousin and she walked towards Sam, "smooth..." She said jokingly.

Sam smiled a small smile and watched Riley throw her duffle bag onto the ground so she could clean the table. He cleared his throat, "so, you're a international hunter?" He asked.

Riley turned to face Sam and leaned against the table, "well, I hunt time to time. When I'm not hunting I deal with my dad's business," she replied.

Sam's brows rose, "oh, you and your dad work together?"

She had a sad smile on her face when she spoke of her father, "he, uh, he passed away a few years back on a hunt he stumbled into. Uh, well, something happened when Jo and I were kids and I think it was an eye opener for him, you know? He quit hunting so he could be there to see me grow up...but you know how the supernatural world is, once you're in..."

"You're never truly out," Sam finished somberly. He knew very well that there was no escaping the life of a hunter. None.

"Yeah," Riley whispered. "He had his own little thing to help out hunters and whatnot. Finding exorcisms, spells, weapons, trinkets, charms, warding symbols—basically anything a hunter could use to help survive while living this type of lifestyle. So he would travel to a lot of different places and get hunters whatever they needed. He never left the US though. That was one of my brilliant ideas." Her smile fell at that, Riley let out a long sigh, "after he was gone...there were too many people who relied on him, so I picked up where he left off."

They were both silent for a moment, "I'm sorry," Sam said quietly. He definitely understood how Riley felt just as much as she did him.

She sent him a small smile, "I'm sorry for what happened to your dad, Sam," she said, voice full of sympathy. "It's not easy, I know. But, if anyone could help you find that demon, it would be Ash," Riley said, truly believing her words.

Sam nodded his head, "thank you."

With that, she made her way to move to the other tables to wipe down and then she would be off to see Jackson in the middle of the woods to hunt down this monster.

Back at the bar, Jo and Dean sat together in silence before Jo spoke up.

"So," Jo said, clearing her throat to get Dean's attention.

Dean turned to look at her, "so."

"Am I gonna see you again?" She asked him.

Dean looked at her for a moment, "do you want to?"

Jo shrugged her shoulders, "I wouldn't hate it."

He hummed and slumped his shoulders slightly, "can I be honest with you? See, normally I'd be hitting on you so fast it'd make your head spin." He sighed, "but, uh, these days... I don't know."

"Wrong place, wrong time?" Jo said repeating exactly what he had said to her earlier.

"Yeah," Dean agreed.

"It's okay, I get it," Jo said, understanding his grief.

The back door opened revealing Ash carrying what used to be John Winchester's folder and a...laptop?

Ash looked at the brothers incredulously, "where you guys been? Been waitin' for ya."

"We were working a job, Ash," Sam said, looking at Ash. "Clowns?"

"Clowns?" Ash questioned with a weird look on his face. "What the fu—" Dean quickly cut him off, "you got something for us, Ash?"

Ash put the laptop down on the now clean table in front of Sam and Dean. They both observed the laptop, it looked like Ash had put it together himself. It had many different buttons than a normal laptop would and exposed wiring covered it.

"Did you find the demon?" Sam questioned.

Ash shook his head, "it's nowhere around. At least, nowhere I can find. But if this fugly bastard raises his head, I'll know. I mean, I'm on it like Divine on dog dookie."

Sam furrowed his brows and frowned, "what do you mean?"

Ash sighed, "I mean, any of those signs or omens appear, anywhere in the world. my rig'll go off. Like a fire alarm."

Dean extended his hand out to see the laptop and hesitated when he caught Ash's eye. "Do you mind...?...yeah."

"Hey, what's up, man?" Ash asked Sam, noticing the questioning look on his face.

"Ash, where did you learn to do all this?" Sam asked, looking at the computer, baffled that someone like Ash could put all this together. Or that it was even possible to do.

"M.I.T. Before I got bounced for... fighting," was Ash's response.

"M.I.T.?"

"It's a school in Boston."

Dean shook his head, clearly baffled that this guy could have gone to college and learned how to do all this crap. It was overwhelming. "Okay. You give us a call as soon as you know something?"

Ash smirked, "Si, si, compadre."

Taking one final sip of his beer, Dean set it on the table only for the rest to be finished by Ash as he worked on his laptop. Both the brothers were about to walk out the door before Ellen's voice stopped them, "hey, listen, if you boys need a place to stay I've got a couple beds out back."

Dean nodded his head in thanks, "thanks, but no. There's something I gotta finish."

Ellen nodded and sent a smile to the boys, "okay."

* * *

Both Sam and Dean walked out of the roadhouse and headed towards the car that Dean hot-wired so they can get back to Bobby's. They caught eye on Riley, who threw her duffle in the back seat while she talked on her phone.

"Alright, Jackson. I'm heading out now. Do not go into the woods without me, understand?" She warned the other hunter. "Yeah, whatever you say, macho man. Mhm,—yeah, okay. Go talk to them. I'll be there soon. Yep. Bye." Riley shook her head and sighed as she shoved her phone in her back pocket and opened the door to the driver's side. "Idiot..." She muttered under her breath.

"See you later, Riley," Dean called out, throwing a hand out in the air.

Riley smirked, "see you around, boys! Drive safe!" With that being said, she slammed her truck door shut and drove off.

Dean raised a brow, "she's an interesting one," he noted.

Sam only nodded his head, "definitely."

* * *

**SO WHAT DID YOU THINK? Reviews are welcome! I love to hear your comments, thoughts, even if you just drop by to say hi! Lol. Let me know if you guy want me to continue this story! Like I've said in the authors note on the top, I'm only going to continue if you wonderful readers liked it! Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story! Hope you enjoyed!**

**ALSO. Check out my other two stories! Both supernatural related! If any of those who read this read my story _A New Prophecy_, I AM STILL WRITING THE STORY. I'm just taking a little break from it for now! Do not worry! I got much more drama to come for team free will. ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** _Holy crap! I had no idea that this story would get so much love! I want to thank all of those who followed, favorited, and reviewed this story! It honestly makes my day when I read one of your lovely reviews! So keep those coming! Lol! So obviously, I am going to continue this story, hence the second chapter being posted! This chapter will introduce another OC, he was briefly mentioned in the first chapter and I guarantee that you will love him! He is a lot of fun to write and you'll see why this chapter! His character is portrayed by the actor Thomas Dekker. If you want more info about him or any of my OC characters, check out my profile for a full description! This will follow the season two story line with my own additional twists! ;) This chapter includes scenes from the episodes Bloodlust and Simon Said. Enjoy and don't forget to drop a review on your way out! Thank you!_

* * *

"No!" Riley screeched. Skidding her boots on the dirt of the Minnesota woods. "Jackson! Get your stupid ass over here!" She yelled out to her hunting partner.

Jackson was definitely an interesting person to hunt with. Similar to Riley, he had also grown up in the life and he and his father were regular customers in Riley's business, which was previously run by her father. Jackson's father had called up Brian years ago, asking for a certain charm to ward themselves from demon possession and that's how Riley and Jacks met.

Jackson was breathing hard, clearly out of breath from running around the woods for the past three and a half hours. Riley looked at him with her brows furrowed, "where's your flare gun?" She asked, dreading to know the answer.

"I dropped it."

Riley's face fell flat, she took in a deep breath and try not to lose her patience, "what do you mean 'you dropped it'?" She asked slowly. "You just had it!"

"Yeah, but I shot at the wendigo," Jackson replied seriously.

Riley raised a brow and made a face, "really?" She questioned, doubtfully.

He nodded his head, "yeah."

"Is it dead?" Riley asked him.

"Yup."

Just then, loud screeching sound and growls were heard through the trees. Riley stared at Jackson, who had a sheepish look on his face.

"Maybe it had a brother," Jackson offered with a shrug of his shoulders and a hesitant smile.

"No."

The wendigo came rushing out at the two hunters and Riley aimed up her flare gun and shot, successfully hitting her target. The monster quickly burst into flames and screamed as it died.

Riley turned back to Jackson, "now it's dead."

"Yeah, well, if anyone asks, I'm sticking to the brother story, Ri," Jackson said with a smirk on his face.

Riley rolled her eyes and shook her head, "come on, moron. We gotta go get the civilians out of the bear cave."

"You think I'm a moron?" Jackson asked with a frown.

"Yeah...but you're my moron," Riley smirked and they walked towards the cave.

"Hey Riley, if those people are in the bear cave...then where are the bears?" Jackson asked her.

Riley looked at her long time idiot friend, "do I look like Doctor Dolittle? I don't know. Hibernating?"

Jackson snorted. "For the civvies' sake, I sure hope so," he said. "Because I don't have anymore flare guns."

Riley pulled out her pistol and showed Jackson with a smirk, "don't worry, Jacks. I got us covered."

"Missed ya, Ri," Jackson said sincerely. He had looked at her like an older sister he never had. Jackson had just turned eighteen and his father agreed that he can go off on hunts as long as he had a hunting partner, because let's face it, Jackson's not the best hunter out there. He's clumsy, not very observant, and not a good shot. But Riley loved the idiot to death and as long as she was breathing, she wasn't going to let anything happen to him. Not on her watch.

Riley smiled at him, "missed you too, J."

They walked in silence for a few minutes and Riley stopped short, looking at Jackson incredulously, "wait a sec, you were gonna shoot Yogi with a flare gun?" She asked him with a perturbed look on her face.

Jackson shrugged, "hey, whatever I gotta do to defend myself."

"Yeah, and with your luck we would have a giant flaming pissed off bear on our hands," Riley retorted with an amused smirk on her face.

* * *

They had spent three days in Minnesota and Riley could not wait to come back home and crash. Eleven and a half hours later, (would have been ten if Jackson didn't have to pee every damn hour,) the two walked into the roadhouse with the place jam packed. It was nearing ten PM and the place was loaded with hunters.

Riley smirked when she saw Jo, yet again hustling some poor sap for his money. She shook her head while she watched the girl who was practically her sister show a little too much cleavage to distract the man from hitting his striped ball into the hole. Jo put on her best smile, as she was the one who had to shoot the eight ball in and that would lead her to her victory. She held her hand out making a 'give me' motion and the man slapped a Benjamin into her palm and she smirked as he walked away. Jo pulled quite a few more Benjamin's and some fifty dollar bills from her bra too. She definitely got lucky tonight. She smiled and waved the money up for Riley and Jackson to see. Jackson laughed and Riley simply shook her head with a smirk on her face.

Only Jo.

Ellen was at the bar having small talk with some hunters. They probably knew either Bill or Brian. She smiled when her eyes caught sight of Riley and Jackson. She excused herself from the men and called out to the two hunters she considered her own children, "Riley! Jacks!"

Both approached Ellen with triumphant smiles on their faces as they took a seat at the bar.

Ellen looked at them. "So, how'd the hunt go?"

Riley shrugged her shoulders, "wendigo's dead. Saved four people. Shot a bear. The usual."

Ellen's brows rose, "you _shot_ a bear?" She asked, confused.

Jackson looked somewhat guilty, "alright, so I _may have_ tripped over it while it was sleeping and pissed it off," he defended himself.

Riley scoffed, "_tripped over it?_ No, J. You _ran into it_ like a damn bull," she said flatly. "If I didn't have my gun, one or both of us would be dead right now."

Ellen stared at the young man with wide, semi-amused eyes. Whenever Riley took Jackson for a hunt, they always came back with some crazy story. She shook her head and placed a beer out for Riley and a soda for Jackson.

"Hey! Where's my beer?" Jackson asked, frowning.

"You're eighteen. Underage, Jacks." Ellen replied.

His head turned back to Riley and then back to Ellen, "so is she!" He argued. "She's twenty!"

Ellen gave Jackson a hard look, which he gladly returned. She raised a brow and dared the boy to keep going. When he backed down, Riley snorted a laugh, "hah—hey!" She scowled at her aunt, who had just took the beer out of her hand when she was about to take a swig at it. "Aunt Ellen!" She whined.

"Don't make fun of the boy next time." Ellen scolded. She threw Riley her apron, "come on! I need some help around here. Clearly Jo's a bit busy..." She said shaking her head slightly. Riley and Jackson glanced back at Jo who was in the prowl looking for yet another hunter to scam.

Riley snatched the apron and tied it around her waist, "I gotta admit, girl's a pro." Jackson nodded in agreement.

The phone rang and Ellen made to answer it, but Riley beat her to it, "Harvelle's Roadhouse." Riley made sure to be extra enthusiastic because for whatever reason, it annoyed Ellen and she loved to bother her for the hell of it. Jackson smirked at her.

_"Hey, Riley, uh, Sam Winchester." _She heard Sam's voice through the ear piece.

Riley smiled, voice going back to her normal, usual excitement, "hey, Sam. What's up?"

_"Eh, on a hunt. Vampires. I got a question for you,"_ Sam said to her.

"Sure, shoot."

_"You ever run across a guy named Gordon Walker?" _He asked and Riley tensed. Oh, she knew Gordon all too well.

She realized that she didn't answer Sam yet and spoke up, "yeah, I know Gordon."

_"And?"_

Riley wasn't going to lie. "Well, um, he's a real good hunter. Why do you ask?"

_"Well, we ran into him on a job and we're kinda working with him, I guess."_

"No," Riley said quickly. "Don't that, Sam."

_"But I thought you said he's a good hunter?"_

Jackson heard Sam over the phone and scoffed, "yeah, and Hannibal Lecter's a good psychiatrist," he wisecracked.

Riley smirked at him and continued her conversation with Sam, "look, Sam, the guy is dangerous to everyone and everything around him. Take it from somebody who knows, if he's working on a job, you and Dean let him be and move on."

_"Riley—"_

"No, Sam. Just listen to what I'm telling you, alright. Let him deal with the vamps. You hear me? The guy is bad news," Riley warned him and Sam heard the urgency in her voice. She _knew_ Gordon Walker.

_"Yeah, okay. I'll tell Dean and we will let him handle it,"_ he said. _"Thanks for letting me know, Riley."_

"Of course. Call if you need anything."

Riley hung up the phone with a huff and turned to Jackson. "Gordon Walker and the Winchesters are apparently working a case together."

Ellen jerked her head so fast, Riley was surprised it didn't snap, "what?!" She yelled. "You tell him to let him be and _leave_?"

Riley nodded her head, "uh, yeah. You remember what happened when I ran into him with dad that time in Lansing. Asshat nearly gotten me killed on that hunt."

"A hunt that you weren't even on..." Jackson reminded them.

"My point exactly," Riley said.

Ellen blew out a breath and shook her head, "don't get me wrong, the man is a great hunter. But he has no moral concept."

"Agreed." Both Riley and Jackson said in unison.

A few moments of silence passed and Riley furrowed her brows in deep thought before turning to Ellen, "Aunt Ellen, you thought I was crazy for shooting a bear?" She questioned. Riley then pointed her thumb in Jackson's direction, "Ranger Smith over here wanted to blast it with a flare gun."

Ellen's face fell and she stared at Jackson, unimpressed. He looked at her intimidating expression and leaned back slightly on the bar stool and chuckled sheepishly. "Heh, oops," Jackson said while rubbing the back of his neck.

Ellen stared at the two in front of her, she turned around to grab a beer and set it in front of Riley then went to tend to other customers. She spun to face Riley and Jackson, "just that one," she pointed to the beer in her hand, "and then get to work. Busy night."

Riley smirked and looked at Jackson, she raised her beer and clinked it with his now half filled soda, "job well done," she grimaced, "sorta..."

Jackson mocked being offended, "hey!" He placed a hand over his heart and stared at her in pretend shock. "Riley, that hurts."

She let out a loud laugh, "don't you worry, J. I'll get you there. You're still pretty new to all this," she told him with a smile. "Practice makes perfect."

* * *

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

The impala sped down a dark empty highway while the radio played softly. Dean was behind the wheel and Sam in the passenger seat. The eldest Winchester glanced at his brother who was staring out the window deep in thought and spoke up, "I don't know, man, why don't we just chill out, think about this."

Sam shut off the radio and turned to face his brother, frustrated, "What's there to think about?" He asked.

"I just don't know if going to the Roadhouse is the smartest idea..." Dean said hesitantly, he didn't want anyone to know about Sam's abilities, especially that the bar was usually full of other hunters.

"Dean, it's another premonition. I know it. This is gonna happen, and Ash can tell us where," Sam explained.

"Yeah, man, but—"

"Plus it could have some connection with the demon. My visions always do," Sam cut in.

"That's my point," Dean snapped. "There's gonna be hunters there, I don't know if, if, if going in and announcing that you're some supernatural freak with a, a demonic connection is the best thing, okay?"

"So I'm a freak now?" Sam questioned hurt.

Dean looked at his brother with his trademark smirk and slapped his hand on his thigh, "you've always been a freak."

* * *

The roadhouse was packed with hunters. Not unusual at this hour. Hunters cleaning their weapons at the tables, some drinking at the bar and talking. They spotted Jo playing a shooter arcade game while an older man, Ed watched. She successfully hit every target and beat Ed's score.

He groaned, shaking his head, "damn, little lady, that was my room money," he complained as he pulled money out to give.

She pulled the money out of his hand and shrugged her shoulders unsympathetically, "well, I guess you're taking a truck nap tonight," she grinned and walked away from him.

Ellen approached Ed, shaking her head with a small smirk on her face, "oughta check the high scores before you put your money down." Ed watched as Ellen pressed a button to reveal the high score listings and it all said the same name scrolling down the screen:

_Player: Jo_

"You went and got yourself hustled, Ed," Ellen said.

Dean and Sam made their way through the crowd of people in search for Ash. Without realizing, Dean nearly collided with Jo. It was mobbed inside the roadhouse, filled with loud and drunk hunters. Jo looked up and her eyes met with Dean, she couldn't help but smile.

"Just can't stay away, huh?"

Dean smirked at her and nodded his head, "yeah, looks like," he said tiredly. "How you doin', Jo?"

Sam, clearly anxious, abruptly interrupts their conversation, "where's Ash?"

"In his back room," she said furrowing her brows.

"Great," was all he said before pushing past her and darted for Ash's room.

Jo looked back at Sam who was already pushing through everyone else to get to the back room, voice dripping with sarcasm, "and I'm fine..."

Dean sent her a sympathetic look, "sorry, he's—we're...kind of on a bit of a timetable." He excused himself and followed his brother towards the back.

Sam and Dean approached the narrow hallway and ended up standing in front of a wooden door with a sign that read: Dr. BADASS IS: IN.

Sam knocked on the door, "Ash? Hey, Ash?" When he didn't respond, Dean huffed an annoyed breath and knocked a little harder than his brother, "Ash! Come on, man! We gotta talk!"

A door a few feet away from the brothers opened and Riley popped her head out, "Winchesters?" She asked with a brow raised. She definitely wasn't expecting them here tonight.

Dean put his hands in the air and then pointed to Ash's door, "he ain't answering."

Riley smirked as she made her way towards the boys. She was dressed in a light grey tank top and navy blue sweatpants. It was her night off. She had done another case with Jackson, a supposed _simple salt and burn,_ as Jackson put it. After nearly getting pushed off a ten story building that the ghost was haunting, Ellen decided to let her rest up for a few days.

Both the brothers looked at the young woman as she stared at the door for a moment before banging her fist against the wood with great force, "hey, Dr. Badass? You got patients waitin' for ya!"

The door was then unlocked and opened to a crack, behind it revealed Ash, who was naked. Sam and Dean averted their eyes.

"Damn it, Ash! Put your clothes on!" Riley yelled, squeezing her eyes shut. It wasn't the first time she walked in on the guy naked, but it never felt any less awkward.

Ash smirked and looked at the brothers in somewhat of a daze, "Sam? Dean? Sam and Dean," he said, slowly registering what was currently happening. His gaze then turned to Riley, "oh hey, Riley..."

She raised a brow and made a face, "hello."

Sam looked at Ash, trying his best to keep his attention to his face, "hey, Ash. Um, we need your help."

The smirk never left Ash's face. "Well, hell then. Guess I need my pants," he said, looking at the three people standing outside his door.

Riley nodded her head, "yeah. You do that." She said, exasperated.

She shook her head and walked out towards the bar, she noticed that Ellen was starting to clear everyone out and she checked her watch. Huh, that late already?

Dean had already taken a seat at the bar when they came back from Ash's room. Riley noticed the uneasy expression on Sam's face, she lightly grabbed Sam by the elbow to get his attention, "hey Sam, you okay?" She asked, concerned.

He only gave her a forced small smile and nodded his head before making his way to his brother at the bar.

* * *

Sitting at one of the tables with his laptop, Ash was looking at the hand-drawn sketch of a bus logo that Sam had seen in his vision. Sam sat across from him and Dean stood behind his younger brother, waiting to get some answers.

"Well, I got a match. It's the logo from the Blue Ridge bus lines in Guthrie, Oklahoma," Ash explained.

Sam nodded his head, "okay. Do me a favor—check Guthrie for any demonic signs, or omens, or anything like that."

Ash looked at Sam, confused, "You think the demon's there?"

"Yeah, maybe," Sam replied.

Ash felt his brows furrow, "why would you think that?" He asked. Surely, if the demon was anywhere, his computer would go off and let him know when and where.

Dean grew impatient and looked at Ash, "just check it, all right?" He said firmly.

Ash gave Dean a look which caused the brothers to frown at each other. Not even a minute later, Ash was shaking his head.

"No, sir, nothing. No demon."

"All right, try something else for me. Search Guthrie for a house fire. It would be 1983, fire's origin would be a baby's nursery, night of the kid's six month birthday." Sam told Ash.

Dean glanced around at the few people who were still in the bar and made sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. He caught Jo's eye who was cleaning one of the tables, she was clearly watching them.

Ash looked at the brothers, both startled and confused as to why he would even look that up, "okay, now that is just weird, man. Why the hell would I be looking for that?" He questioned quietly, eyes wide.

Without missing a beat, Sam pulled out a beer and placed it next to Ash's laptop, "cause there's a PBR in it for ya."

Ash eyed the beer for a moment and look at Sam with a smirk, "give me fifteen minutes." With that Sam and Dean both got up from the table as Ash took a swig of his beer and got to work on his laptop.

Riley was leaning on the counter with a bottle of water in hand as she watched everyone inside the roadhouse. Ellen was drying dishes and Riley stood up to go help her. Ellen looked at her niece, "oh no, honey. Tonight is your night off. Relax for a bit, huh?"

Riley smiled and nodded her head, "sure thing, Aunt Ellen." She placed her elbows on the counter as she leaned back and let out a tired sigh. Ellen put a glass in the drainer and turned to face her niece, "so, when do you think you'll be headed on another hunt?"

Riley shook her head and shrugged, "not sure. I'm usually just taking Jackson on hunts nowadays. So whenever he calls I'll go. Why? Is there something wrong?" She questioned worriedly.

Ellen smiled, "no, ain't nothing wrong, Ri. That boy is very lucky that you got his back. God knows he needs it." She said with a chuckle.

"You're preaching to the choir," Riley said, nodding. "I really wonder why Hallowell wanted to raise his son into this. He could've gotten out. J was still to little to know what was going on back then."

Ellen shrugged, "well, I could say the same about your daddy and Uncle Bill. It's like what you always said, once you're in the life—"

"You can never get out...yeah, I know." Riley finished for her aunt, letting out a sigh. "All I'm saying is, those people who get into the life and don't have to are idiots..." She muttered. A part of Riley wanted to throw all of it away and go live the normal white picket fence life, but when she thought about it, if she didn't go out there to save other peoples' asses from the supernatural, who will?

Ellen huffed, causing Riley to look at her with a frown, "well, then you should go talk to your idiot cousin."

Riley's brows furrowed as she glanced at Jo who was messing around with the jukebox, "wait a second, Jo wants to hunt?" She whispered to her aunt with wide, surprised eyes.

Ellen hummed her response, "oh yeah, I told her no."

Riley nodded her head agreeing, "good. If she doesn't need to be hunting then she shouldn't."

Ellen looked at her in surprise, "you wouldn't want her hunting with you?"

"It's not that I wouldn't want her hunting with me. I just don't want her hunting, period." Riley said, looking at Jo. She then turned to face Ellen completely, "one of the main reasons why I still do this is because of dad's business. Another is to make sure Jackson doesn't get himself killed. And because at the end of the day, I can go to bed knowing that someone else won't have to wake up with all the pain and grief that we carry with us."

Ellen had a sad smile on her face as she looked at her niece, "your daddy would be real proud of you, Riley."

"I'll talk with Jo about hunting later," Riley said, returning the smile and pushed herself off the counter and walked towards Ash.

"Hey, mullet man," she greeted Ash as she propped her feet up on the table, almost knocking his beer over.

"Hey! Watch the beer!" Ash warned as he picked it up taking his last swig and placing it on the other side of his laptop.

Riley snorted, "Ash, we live in a bar. It's free beer all day, everyday."

Ash let her words sink in for a moment before nodding his head, "touché."

Sam watched the two carefully by the bar with a curious expression. He was happy that he and his brother had stumbled into the roadhouse when they did. He got the homey vibe off the place and everyone there made Sam feel comfortable. Ellen was a sweetheart and she had that motherly instinct on him and Dean just as much as she had with her own daughter and niece. It was nice knowing that there were others who cared about them. Jo was a spitfire for sure, he hasn't spoken to her much, but he could tell that she was a good person. Ash was doing everything in his power to help them track down the demon who destroyed the Winchester family. Riley was sweet girl with a cool personality, he recognized the bond that she and Jo share from when they first met. And even though Riley was younger than Jo, Sam could clearly see the protectiveness she had of her cousin. He admired that about her and in a way, it reminded him of himself and Dean.

He got off the bar stool and made his way to the two. Riley looked up and sent him a smile that he returned. "Ash, anything?" He asked, with big worried eyes. Riley squinted her eyes in suspicion while she look at Sam. He seemed nervous and was definitely itching to get back on the road.

Ash glanced up at Sam, "uh..." The laptop began to beep and Ash smirked, "now I do." He began to type on his laptop. Ash looked at Sam, "Andrew Gallagher. Born in 1983. House fire the night of his six month birthday."

Riley frowned as she looked between Sam and Ash.

"Thanks Ash," Sam said as he went straight to his brother.

Riley looked at Ash, "and they wanted you to dig up that piece of information, why?"

Ash could only shrug his shoulders in response. He wasn't quite sure either.

On the other side of the bar, Jo had pressed a couple of buttons on the old jukebox and a song from REO Speedwagon _Can't Fight This Feeling_ began to play. Dean, who was sitting at the bar with a beer of his own looked in Jo's direction with an incredulous look on his face. Jo saw it and smirked. She carried a tray filled with empty beer bottles and whatnot to the bar and set it down before sitting next to Dean.

_I can't fight this feeling any longer._

_And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow._

_What started out as friendship,_

_Has grown stronger._

_I only wish I had the strength to let it show._

_I tell myself that I can't hold out forever._

_I said there is no reason for my fear._

_Cause I feel so secure when we're together._

_You give my life direction,_

_You make everything so clear..._

Dean's expression didn't change and Jo looked at him, "what?" She questioned, quirking a brow. That little action made Dean think of Riley. They both had the same mannerisms and honestly, they looked more like sisters than cousins.

"REO Speedwagon?" He asked.

Jo nodded her head approvingly, "damn right REO. Kevin Cronin sings it from the heart."

"He sings it from the hair. There's a difference," Dean responded and heard a small snort from Riley who was walking towards Ash.

"That profile you've got Ash looking for..." Jo trailed off.

Dean looked at her. "Hmm?"

"Your mom died the Same way, didn't she? A fire in Sam's nursery?"

Dean let out an exasperated sigh, "look, Jo, it's kind of a family thing." He explained. No way in hell did he want anyone else involved in the Winchester family affairs.

"I could help."

"I'm sure you could. But we've got to handle this one ourselves. Besides, if I ran off with you I think your mother might kill me." He said, sneaking a glance at Ellen who was cleaning glasses behind the bar. She met his stare and Dean smiled nervously at her.

"You're afraid of my mother?" Jo asked, looking at Dean like he was crazy.

He could only nod his head, "I think so."

Sam, who was near Ash and Riley for the last few minutes had come up behind Jo and looked right at Dean, "we have a match. We've gotta go." He said hurriedly.

Dean sighed and looked at Jo, getting up from his seat. "All right, Jo. See you later."

Jo simply nodded her head, disappointed, "yeah, see ya later..."

* * *

Riley and Ash took a seat between Jo and they both looked at her expectantly. Jo glanced at the two of them and groaned, "now what?"

"Why do you want to go hunt supernatural creatures that want to kill us?" Riley asked, deadpan.

Jo's eyes widened and she looked at her mother who was leaning on the counter, similar to Riley's position before with her arms crossed and brows raised.

"Oh, come on! Are you guys serious?" She questioned, looking at her family aggravated. She then spun to her left where Riley was seated, "if you can do it, then why can't I?" She asked angrily.

Ellen took a couple of steps closer to where the trio was sitting, "because, honey, her daddy trained her to be a hunter. You never even went on a hunt before." She explained.

"Well, I am perfectly capable of going on a hunt," Jo said, "I know what I'm doing."

"We're sure you do, Jo. But, why get into it when you don't have to?" Ash asked quietly.

"Who said I'm not in it?" Jo scoffed, "come on, Ash! I work in a bar full of hunters!"

Riley coughed. When the three turned their attention to her, Riley raised her index finger and pointed at Jo, "ahem, you _hustle_ _and scam_ people in a bar full of hunters." She clarified, earning smirks from Ellen and Ash.

She gave Riley her best stink face and sighed. Riley let out a long breath before propping her elbow on the bar and turned to face her completely, "look, Jo, it's not that we don't think you aren't capable out there, because we know that you are. But, hunting isn't just about killing monsters."

Jo furrowed her brows, "then what is it about?"

Riley smiled, "saving people. To do the right thing. But no matter how hard you train, nobody walks out that door fully prepared to fight the supernatural. You may think it now, but in that moment, are you really going to be able to pull the trigger, or chop a vampires head off, or dig up a fresh body? Cause I'll be honest, I sure as hell wasn't able to my first time round."

"I'll do it," Jo said, not backing down.

The smile faded and Riley shook her head, "don't get yourself involved in this Jo, I'm telling you right now because once you get to deep into this, there's no going back." She told her seriously.

"Then why the hell do you do it, Riley?" Jo spat.

"Joanna!" Ellen scolded her daughter for her attitude.

"I don't want to. But after dad, I had to. And now I do it for Jackson too."

"So why can't you teach me like you teach Jackson?" Jo asked, shaking her head at her cousin.

"Because he doesn't have a choice in this! You do, Jo!" Riley yelled, hopping off her seat heatedly. "_You do!_ So take it and don't get into this! No hunter does this for shits and giggles! There's always a risk! I can walk out that door on my next hunt and not come back!" She yelled, pointing to the door.

Jo's attitude dropped after Riley's outburst. She didn't look at it that way. Jo had her own reasons for wanting to get into the life. She grew up at the roadhouse surrounded by hunters who tell their stories about their previous hunts. Jo was intrigued by it and wanted that adrenaline rush hunters got when they chased down that monster. The other part wanted to do it because of her father. He was a hunter and died on the field. She wanted to go out and save people in his memory. Jo was so young when Bill died, it made it a lot harder to understand the true meaning of death.

She looked at Riley, fear growing that one day Riley may not come back home after a hunt. She was right, there are always risks. But, it didn't mean she had given up the whole idea of hunting either.

"Riley..."

"I'm serious, Jo," Riley said with a serious expression. "If you don't have to do this...then _don't_."

The only thing Jo could manage to do was nod her head.

Ash inhaled a deep breath after a moment of awkward silence, he glanced around the roadhouse and noticed that it was now just the four of them inside. "Well, anyone find it strange that those Winchesters had me search up house fires that start in a baby's nursery on the night of their six month birthday in 1983?"

Riley made a face, "yeah I heard...it's definitely strange."

Ellen furrowed her brows in concentration and looked at Ash, "did you find a match?"

"Mhmm..." Ash said as he leaned over the bar from his seat to grab a beer.

"Isn't that how Sam and Dean's mom died?" Jo asked. "A fire that started up in Sam's nursery? Is there some sort of pattern?"

Riley's brows rose as she looked at the three of them, "well, I'd say that these boys just got a whole lot more interesting..."

* * *

The car ride in the impala was filled with Dean's singing voice of the song that Jo had played back at the roadhouse.

"And even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight

You're a candle in the window on a cold dark winter night

And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might..."

Sam stared at his brother incredulously, "you're kidding, right?"

"I heard the song somewhere, I can't get it out of my head, I don't know, man. Whaddya got?" Dean said, quickly changing the subject.

Sam looked down at the stack of papers on his lap. He began flipping through them until he found the specific piece of paper he was looking for, "Andrew Gallagher. Born in eighty three, like me. Lost his mother in a nursery fire exactly six months later, also like me."

"You think the demon killed his mom?" Dean asked quietly.

Sam shrugged, looking down at the papers, "sure looks like it."

"How did you even know to look for this guy?" Dean questioned.

"Every premonition I've had, if they're not about the demon they're about the other kids the demon visited. Like Max Miller, remember him?" He said looking at his brother.

"Yeah, but Max Miller was a pasty little psycho," Dean responded back.

"The point is he was killing people," Sam stressed. "And I was having the same type of visions about him. And now it could be happening all over again with this Gallagher guy."

"How do we find him?"

"Don't know. No current address, no current employment. He still owes money on all his bills—phone, credit, utilities..."

"Collection agency flags?" Dean asked with his brows furrowed as he stared at the road in front of him.

"None in the system."

"They just let him take a walk?" Dean asked, doubtful.

"Seems like it. There's a work address from his last W-2, about a year ago. Let's start there."

* * *

On this particular case, Dean and Sam found themselves meeting not one, but two more special children like Sam. One, from their original lead, they had found themselves accusing Andy Gallagher of murder of several different people, all of which Sam kept having visions about. They also learned of Andy's particular ability, unlike Sam, Andy was able to use mind control and "persuade" people. Everyone except Sam.

It was later discovered that Andy was adopted and had a twin brother. A brother who happened to be in the area and someone he knew. Like Andy, Webber was able to use mind control and told his brother a little about yellow eyes' plans for them and all the other special children before Andy had killed him.

The police had arrived on the bridge by morning. Andy had spoken to the three police officers telling them what had happened the night before. Sam was with a paramedic who was tending his injured shoulder while Dean stood by his side.

"He shot himself. And you all saw it happen," Andy told the policemen.

"Yeah. We did," the police officer dumbly agreed.

The paramedic left Sam and Dean. They were both watching Andy in action, "look at him. He's getting better at it," Sam stated.

Andy began to walk towards the brothers and passed the ambulance truck where the girl, Tracy, was sitting. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and when she glanced at Andy she turned away, avoiding his eyes.

"She won't even look at me," Andy told the brothers, sadness in his voice.

"Yeah, she's pretty shaken up," Sam replied.

Andy shook his head, "no, it's, this is different. It's, uh, I never, I never used my mind thing on her before. Before last night. She's scared of me now," he explained.

Sam and Dean glanced at each other for a minute before turning back to Andy, "hey, Andy, I hate to do this, but um, we have to get out of here." He passed him a piece of paper. "Here. I wrote down my cell. You don't have to be alone in this, all right? If anything comes up, just call me up."

Andy looked at the brothers in surprise, certainly not expecting them to leave so quickly. "Wha-what am I supposed to do now?" He practically begged for answers.

"You be good, Andy. Or we'll be back," Dean warned.

They both walked away and left Andy standing on the bridge.

"Look like I was right," Sam said grimly.

"About what?" Dean questioned, brows furrowed.

"Andy. He's a killer after all," Sam told him with a sigh.

Dean shook his head and looked at his brother like he was an idiot. "No, he's a hero. He saved his girlfriend's life, he saved my life."

"Bottom line, last night, he wasted somebody," Sam said. Sometimes he was so hardheaded.

"Yeah, but he's not a foaming-at-the-mouth psycho. He was just, he was pushed into that," Dean defended him.

Sam looked at his brother, "Weber was pushed too, in his own way. Max Miller was pushed. Hell, I was pushed by Jessica's death."

Dean stopped walking, "what's your point, Sam?"

"Right circumstances, everyone's capable of murder," he said to his brother. "Everyone. You know, maybe that's what the demon's doing. Pushing us. Finding ways to break us."

Dean looked hesitant, "Sam, we don't know what the demon wants, okay? Quit worrying about it."

"You know, I heard you before, Dean, when Andy made you tell the truth. You're just as scared of this as I am," Sam admitted.

Dean got defensive, "that was mind control! I mean, it's like, that's like being roofied, man, that doesn't count."

"What?" Sam asked and made a face.

"No. I'm, I'm calling do-over."

"What are you, seven?" Sam said scrunching up his face.

"Doesn't matter. Look, we've just gotta keep doing what we're doing, find that evil son of a bitch and kill it," Dean told his brother.

He heard Sam let out a sigh, "yeah, I guess."

Before Dean could say anything else, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, glancing at the caller ID: Ellen. He flipped it open and answered, "hello?"

_"Dean."_

"What's going on?"

_"You and your brother get your asses here. Now."_

"Yeah, we'll be right there."

* * *

Sam and Dean hightailed their way back to the roadhouse, going twenty over the speed limit. Neither brother had no idea what Ellen wanted, but just by the sound of her voice on the phone, Dean could tell it was Important.

A few hours later, they were back at the roadhouse, sitting at the bar, Ellen was standing behind it staring at them while Jo wandered around the room, trying to listen in on what her mother was about to say.

"Jo?" Ellen questioned.

"Hmm?"

"Go pull up another case of beer," she ordered.

Jo whined, "mom..."

"Now. Please," Ellen said sternly. She was in no mood for joking around.

Sam glanced around the room and noticed that Riley and Ash were nowhere to be seen. Ellen eyed her daughter as she left the room to get the beer and she leaned on the bar in front of Sam and Dean.

"So. You uh, you want to tell me about this last hunt of yours?" Ellen asked.

"No. Not really," Dean replied shortly. "No offense, it's just kind of a family thing."

Ellen looked at the brothers, "not anymore." She dropped a stack of papers in front of them and when it hit the counter it made a loud sound.

"I got this stuff from Ash," she explained. "Andrew Gallagher's house burnt down on his six month birthday, just like your house. You think it was the demon both times, don't you? You think it went after Gallagher's family?"

"Yeah, we think so," Sam said to Ellen.

"Sam..." Dean warned.

Ellen shook her head, confused, "why?"

"None of your business," Dean quipped, not wanting to give anyone any information.

Ellen snapped. "You mind your tongue with me, boy," she scolded. "This isn't just your war, this is war. Now, something big and bad's coming and it's coming fast, and their side holds all the cards. Now, at best all we got is us. Together. No secrets or half-truths here."

Sam sighed, giving in, "there are people out there, like Andy Gallagher, like me. And um, we all have some kind of ability."

"Ability?"

Dean rolled his eyes and stared at the bar. He was uncomfortable talking to anyone else about what was happening to his little brother and all these other people because in all honesty, he had no idea what was happening himself.

"Yeah. Psychic ability. Me, I have, um, I have visions. Premonitions. I don't know, it's different for everybody. The demon said he had plans for people like us." Sam said quietly.

"What kind of plans?" She asked with wide, confused eyes.

Sam shook his head "we don't really know for sure."

"These people out there, these psychics," Ellen went on. "Are they dangerous?"

"No." Dean spoke up. "Not all of them."

Sam quickly jumped in, "but some are. Some are very dangerous."

"Okay, how many of them are we looking at?" Ellen asked.

"We've been able to track a clear pattern so far. They've all had house fires on the night of the kid's six month birthday," Dean explained.

"That's not true," Sam said, disappointment in his quiet voice.

Dean jerked his head, now facing his brother, "what?"

"Weber? Or Ansen Weems, or whatever his name is, I looked at his files, and there was no house fire. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Which breaks pattern," Ellen breathed. "So if there's any others like him, there'd be nothing in the system. No way to track 'em all down."

"And so who knows how many of 'em are really out there?" Dean said, defeated.

Ellen looked up and saw Jo bringing in the case of beer. Letting out a long sigh, "Jo, honey?"

She placed the case down on the table and looked up at her mother, "yeah?"

"You'd better break out the whiskey instead."

* * *

It was quiet in Ash's room. Riley had made herself comfortable on his bed as she leaned against the wall with her journal in her lap. She glanced at Ash, he was busy typing away on his computer. She stared at the wall in front of her, his room was painted a dark olive green and had posters of random things hanging on his wall. Just like every regular guy, the place was a mess. She watched Ash grab a screwdriver off his desk and began to work on a part of his laptop.

"Hey Ash?" Riley said, no louder than a whisper.

Ash placed the screwdriver back on the desk and closed his laptop, leaving it on his lap. He looked up at her, "yeah Riles?"

"The stuff that you searched up before...about the fires in the nursery...this demon, it's a lot bigger than us?" She asked, looking at him with wide, fearful eyes.

She watched Ash sit back in his seat and look at the wooden floors that were cluttered with clothes, magazines, computer parts, and god knows what else. When he met Riley's eyes a moment later, she could see the fear that resided behind them. "I don't know what exactly those Winchester boys are looking for...but, what I do know is that whatever they are getting themselves into..." He shook his head, "there is a much bigger picture. And whatever that is, it still remains to be seen."

Riley nodded her head numbly and swallowed hard. The way Ellen acted after she had Ash search up all the information on Andy and the other house fires...it put everyone on edge. She never saw Ellen nervous or even afraid. And now that she has, Riley knew that shit was going to hit the fan, it was only a matter of time.

Ash watched silently as Riley wrote in her journal. He really didn't know what the Winchesters were even getting into and he doubted that they did either. But whatever it was...it was bound to get a whole lot worse.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm not totally happy with how it came out, but hopefully y'all liked it! If you liked Jackson then get ready, we shall be seeing more of him throughout the story! He is a hilariously stupid guy, but everyone loves him. I planned a chapter that he features in and oh my lord, I cannot wait to write it! :)What did you guys think of the little argument between Jo and Riley?**

**I do apologize that if there are certain things that seem unclear about Riley and about her hunting, everything will be clarified in upcoming chapters! The history with her mother and father and such..**

**Drop me a review and let me know what you think! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: _Hi everyone! So here is the next chapter of Riley's story! I'm super excited about this chapter in particular because it delves into Riley's past and there is quite a bit of action too! If you liked Jackson, then you'll enjoy this chapter! Leave me a review on your way out! I want to know what you guys think so far!_

* * *

**_August 2nd, 2001 (Five Years Ago)_**

_In the simple town of Rochester, Indiana stood Brian Harvelle waiting for an old time friend and hunter to meet him at his motel. Riley, at the age of fifteen was passed out on one of the Queen sized beds, exhausted from the long car trip. She knew what was out there hiding in the dark and instead of fearing for her life like any normal teenage girl would; Riley faced it head on, asking her father to teach her everything he knew. He admired his daughter and her pure stubbornness reminded him of her mother._

_It was because of her stubborn mother that they were in this mess actually._

_The blue jeep had pulled up next to Brian's truck and he watched Eric Hallowell climb out of the drivers seat and slam the car door. On the other side, the passenger side door opened and out came thirteen-year old Jackson. Brian felt a smirk tugging on his lips when he saw them._

_Eric nodded his head and more or less shoved Jackson into the motel room with Riley, letting the door slam behind him. He looked at Brian with a pointed look, "so, what the hell kind of amulet is this that want me to hang on to for safe keeping?"_

* * *

The sun had barely made itself known through the window in the early hours of the morning. Riley stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom, not really wanting to leave the comfort of her bed. Like most of the bedrooms, Riley's feet had met with the cool wooden floor. She stretched her arms out as far as she could and let out a tired yawn. She spared a glance at her little digital clock on her nightstand that read **5:58AM**. Blowing out a sigh, she grabbed an elastic hair band and threw her hair up in a messy bun. She grabbed her black framed glasses that was resting on top of several books on her small desk and quietly walked out of her bedroom, heading straight for the bathroom.

Still overcome with sleep, she barely noticed the big figure in her path until she bumped into him. Riley jumped back, clearly startled, blinking wildly as she tried to focus her tired eyes on the tall figure.

"Uh, hi Riley."

_Sam?_

Riley looked up at saw Sam standing their awkwardly in a plain white T-shirt and black sweatpants. Most likely coming out of the bathroom himself. She furrowed her brows in confusion. "Sam? I thought you left last night." It sounded more like a question than a statement.

Sam shrugged, "yeah, we were going to, but Ellen insisted we stay and leave in the morning."

Riley just nodded her head. "Alright. Well, I'm gonna go pee and I'll get started on breakfast for everyone," she told him, rubbing her eyes.

Sam felt a smirk spread across his face. She was very blunt with her words this morning and was clearly still half asleep. "Riley—you don't have to do that..."

She looked up at him for a moment before saying anything. _Jesus, this guy is taller than the jolly green giant_, she thought mindlessly.

"So I've been told," Sam said, smile growing.

Realization hit Riley, oh crap. She had actually said that out loud. Letting out a small snort, "sorry," she said with a lazy smile. "My brain isn't really a morning person if you know what I mean," she explained dumbly.

Sam chuckled and nodded his head, "I know."

She waved her hand in the air, letting out a chuckle herself and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Sam watched Riley leave and the smile didn't disappear from his face. He walked towards the main room and took a seat at the bar. He glanced around the empty bar. Sam heard shuffling and in came his older brother. Dean ran a hand across his face, still laced with sleep and probably a hangover.

"Mornin'," he mumbled to his brother, taking a seat next to him.

"Hey, uh, so Riley said she would make us something before we hit the road. We'll see if Ash has another lead on the demon and if not, we go on another case." Sam told his brother.

Dean nodded his head and let out a loud yawn, not bothering to cover his mouth.

"Dude..."

Dean smirked at his brother, he opened his mouth, probably going to give his brother his usual sarcastic remarks, but stopped when Riley walked in. She was still dressed in her pajamas and wearing her glasses. She sent them both a smile and said good morning and got to work on breakfast.

"Hope you boys like bacon," she said as she pulled the frying pan out of one of the cabinets. Dean smirked at his brother and Sam shook his head. His brother had a sick obsession with bacon...

"I _love_ bacon," Dean said as he looked at Riley with a shit eating grin plastered on her face. She saw it and laughed.

"Good."

It didn't take long to prepare a nice breakfast for the boys and for everyone else once they woke up. Riley and the boys were talking quietly about random things. It was weird for them to have conversations that didn't relate to hunting, especially when talking to another hunter. But Dean learned that Riley was a pretty cool chick. She was interesting to say the least. She had a great sense of humor and Dean could tell that she was smart. Riley also made a hell of a good breakfast. This bacon was his new heaven.

"Who knew four eyes could make such awesome bacon?" Dean said with a smirk. Riley let out a playful scoff and pushed up her glasses with her index finger. She then pointed at him, "call me four eyes again and there will be no more bacon for you," Riley threatened jokingly. Dean's eyes widened before he pulled his plate closer to him and covered it with his arms, as if he was protecting it. Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head at his idiot brother and Riley barked out a laugh.

"Oh calm down, Dean."

Ash had been the first one to walk inside the bar. The three watched him sniff the air and smirk. His eyes laid on Riley and he looked at her confused, "wait, I thought Jo was makin' us breakfast today?" He questioned.

"Yeah, well, I thought since I'm up I'd do it. Besides, I do not trust that girl behind a stove." Riley said, earning snorts from the guys.

Ash shrugged and seemed to agree with Riley, "this is also true." He took a seat next to Sam and Riley placed a plate of food in front of him along with a coffee mug. Ash smirked, leaning over the bar to get a bottle of beer and poured some in his coffee. Riley, Sam and Dean stared at him in disgust.

"Ugh, Ash, it's seven-thirty in the morning and not to mention that beer and coffee do not mix," Riley said, making a face.

He raised his mug up in her direction, "to each his own," he said before taking a big gulp of it. Riley just shook her head and started to clean up the dishes and everything she had taken out to cook.

After taking a few bites of his meal, Ash looked up at Riley, "hey, you remember when Jo tried to make us all pancakes?" He asked, smiling at the memory.

Riley snorted, "oh god. Don't even get me started on that."

Dean looked between the two, "what happened with the pancakes?" He asked, curious.

"What pancakes?" Jo said, entering the room, fully dressed in her signature tight tank top and jeans.

"Oh nothing," Riley dismissed it with the wave of her hand and passed her a dish.

Ellen walked out not long after Jo had and they all spoke to one another over breakfast. Dean was now sitting with Ash explaining the whole story to him about the yellow-eyed demon who was after the special children. He figured now that Ellen knew, it would be better for him to know the actual story from them instead of going off his research, although he was pretty much on the mark. It would probably be better now with Ash knowing because now there are more distinct signs he can look for when tracking the demon.

Ellen had told Jo to clean the dishes since Riley had made breakfast. Ellen was currently on the phone with another hunter for a little while giving some information on a case. Riley and Sam were sitting at one of the tables talking.

Ellen looked at Riley, "have you heard from Jackson, sweetie?" She asked from the bar.

"Uh, he said that he was going to meet his father and he'd come meet me here to work another case," she told her. She sent Ellen a smile before turning back to Sam, "so, you wanna tell me what happened to your hand?" She asked with a smirk.

Sam looked at his cast on his right arm and shook his head, "a zombie got the jump on me during a hunt," he said with a shrug. "That whole case was just nuts. Necromancy crap, you know."

Riley grimaced, "ew, I hate zombies," she said with a shiver.

"Yeah...you and I both." Sam agreed. It was quiet for a minute before Sam spoke up again, "so you were right about Gordon..." He admitted, letting out a long sigh.

Riley quirked a brow, "I'm taking that you two stuck around long enough to find that out yourselves?" She asked him, giving him a pointed look. It almost made Sam laugh, she had these strange motherly characteristics and by the way she had asked that question reminded him how a mother would casually question her kid about stealing cookies from the cookie jar. If she ever decided to settle down and have kids of her own, Sam knew that she would be a great mom.

Sam smiled guiltily, "yeah..." He trailed off before deciding to tell her how they had said their goodbyes to sweet old Gordon. He told her about the vampires that were not feeding on people and how Gordon knew and went after them anyway. He told her about Gordon's sister, which she wasn't all that surprised about. She couldn't help herself but laugh when Sam told her about Dean fighting Gordon and left him tied up in his own crap for two days. He deserved that and so much more.

Letting out the rest of her chuckles, "wow, that's great." She had a smile on her face when she looked at Sam, "but honestly, do yourselves a favor and stay away from the wack-a-doo."

He raised his brows at Riley's word choice and let out a small laugh, "if you don't mind me asking, how did you know Gordon?" He asked with his big curious puppy dog eyes.

Sam watched how Riley's eyes stared down at the small crack in the table as if it was the most interesting thing while she spoke, "well, it was a few months before my dad died...Gordon was tracking down a couple of demons and had called my dad in for some specific devils trap or something like that..." She swallowed hard before continuing, "uh, my dad was already talking to another client that was in the next town over and he told me to go give Gordon the drawings or sigils—it's all kinda hazy now...but my dad said once I give Gordon the stuff that I'd meet up with him," she told Sam and he nodded for her to continue, "except, uh, I never got to meet up with my dad. The demons jumped me and Gordon saw the whole thing and let it happen. I was bait for them, basically."

He stared at Riley with wide, furious eyes; regretting that he didn't work Gordon over himself. Sam was about to open his mouth to say something but Ellen yelled for Riley to answer the phone. She gave him an apologetic smile before jumping out of her seat to pick up the phone.

"Roadhouse. This is Riley."

_"Riley!"_ Jackson shouted on the phone. _"I'm in trouble."_

"What?" Riley answered, confused. He was supposedly with his father, wasn't he? He wouldn't be dumb enough to go on a hunt alone, right? Of course he would. "Jackson! What happened?"

She heard scuffling and Jackson cry out. Riley's eyes were wide as saucers as she listened to what was happening over the phone. _"Vampires! In the farmhouse! Jefferson County, Indiana! Riley, hurry!" _The phone call cut out just as Riley was going to make a reply.

She hung up the phone and looked at Ellen, "it's Jackson. Idiot goes to hunt vampires on his own!" Riley said frantically.

Jo stops at the sink where she had been washing dishes, "I thought you said he was with his dad?"

"That's what I thought! Stupid—friggin'—moron!" She struggled for words that she wanted to shout at her hunter friend. She ran out of the main room and headed to her bedroom throwing on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt with a flannel over it, and her usual hunting boots. She put her contacts on and had thrown her glasses on the dresser carelessly.

She picked up her duffle that was lying near the door and swung it over her shoulder. So much for having a couple of days off...she thought grimly. Her mind kept going back to Jackson's phone call. Was he really that stupid and naive to think he can handle what sounded like a nest of vampires on his own? They barely walk alive when it's the two of them working a case. It just didn't make any sense.

When she rushed out back into the main room, Riley had four pairs of eyes staring at her all with different expressions on their faces. She turned to Ellen, "I'll call you soon as I find him. That kid isn't dying unless I kill him myself," she told her determinedly.

Ellen nodded, "make sure you save a part of him for me, I can just give that kid an ass-whooping for all the idiotic things he's done."

Riley smirked and nodded her head. She looked at the brothers, "I'll see you later, boys." They both nodded their heads and said their goodbyes before Riley practically darted out the door and into her truck. She had a few fours until she got to Indiana. Just as she pulled out of her spot and drove onto the main road, _this is going to be the longest car ride of my life_, she thought.

* * *

_Riley jerked awake from the sound of the motel room door being closed with a slam. She glared at the thirteen-year old and quirked a brow, "and who the heck are you?" She asked, attitude flaring. Both being a hunter in training and a teenage girl had Riley's attitude blazing. Especially right then._

_The boy pushed his floppy dark brown hair out of his face, "hi, uh, our dad's are talking outside." His voice seemed very shaky and nervous. He was clearly intimidated by the blonde._

_"Oh," was all she said. She took in his appearance. He had a lord of the rings t-shirt on along with a pair of jeans and sneakers._

_"Yeah..." He trailed off, eyes looking at anything but her._

_"I don't bite, you know," Riley said to him. She leaped off the bed and watched the boy take a step back. She huffed and held out her hand, "name's Riley, you?"_

_"Jackson. Jackson Hallowell," he said slowly, taking her hand._

_They released each other's hands and stood there in awkward silence for a good minute before Jackson broke the silence, "so do you hunt monsters too?"_

_Riley looked at Jackson in surprise. She didn't think he knew about anything supernatural related considering how the kid held himself. He seemed like a jittery, clumsy mess. She nodded her head slightly, "in training. My dad is gonna teach me everything he knows so if I need to hunt, I'll be ready. But he doesn't really hunt anymore. He has a different hunter job," she told him, crossing her arms and staring at the picture frame that hung on the moldy motel wall._

_"That's cool," Jackson said quietly. "My dad is a hunter too..." He looked up and saw Riley giving him a 'no duh' expression. "Heh, but you knew that already since our dad's are talking and all..."_

_"You are definitely at the top of your class, aren't you?" Riley asked with sarcasm laced in her voice._

_Jackson didn't realize it and took her words literally, "I wouldn't know...I'm homeschooled by my dad."_

_Riley felt her expression drop, "you never went to a normal school before?" She asked in quiet shock._

_She watched him bite his lip and shrug his shoulders, unable to meet her eyes, "I did...but it was a real long time ago. I barely remember."_

_"Why'd you stop?" She asked, curious._

_"Cause my mom died."_

* * *

Riley put her truck in park and she stared at the farmhouse that was standing in front of her. One of the first things she noticed was that Jackson's blue jeep was nowhere to be seen. So either the vampires moved it out of plain sight or they jumped Jackson before hand. Red flag number one.

She pulled out her machete from her duffle and also grabbed her black pistol, sliding it in the back of her jeans. Riley jumped out of the car and made sure she had her small dagger in her right boot where she always kept it. _Better safe than sorry_, she thought.

The hunter did a once over of the property, which was a lot of land and she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The only thing that threw her off was the dead silence, she was standing in was basically the woods and there was no indication of life anywhere. Sometimes hearing nothing is a lot worse than hearing something. Red flag number two.

Riley swallowed and crept her way up the wooden stairs that creaked with every step she took, wincing at the sound it made. It was a loud sound and whoever was inside the house would know that someone was approaching. _So much for surprising them._

She tried to peek through the window on the left side of the front door, but it was covered with an old white curtain, although, it certainly wasn't white anymore. Riley placed her hand on the nob, checking it to see if the door was locked. It wasn't. Red flag number three.

Twisting the nob, the door easily swung open and revealed nothing but an old abandoned farmhouse. Letting out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, Riley took a step inside looking around for anything out of the ordinary. Maybe the vamps changed their location after finding out that hunters were looking for them? Possibly.

Riley felt her brows furrow when she noticed that the place was way too clean for a vampire nest. Surely, some vampires weren't as sloppy as others, but this takes the cake. It looked like no one had even been here in years. There was a growing pit in her stomach as she took a few more steps inside what she assumed was the living room. It was an open layout and everything on the first floor was pretty much visible from where Riley stood.

She stood there for a good two minutes waiting for something to pounce, but nothing had. Riley got the eerie feeling that maybe Jackson wasn't the one who called her and that someone or something lured her here. Riley jumped when her phone in her back pocket vibrated. She swore quietly as she glanced at the screen, damning herself when she saw who it was from.

**On my way to the roadhouse. Snaked a case off my dad. How are you feeling about shape shifters? — J**

"Damn it..." Riley muttered to herself, shoving her phone back into her pocket before spinning around to leave the farmhouse. The text just confirmed her inner thoughts to be true. This was a trap. Not for Jackson, but for her. Her eyes widened slightly seeing that the front door was now closed, which it hadn't been just a moment before. She walked towards it slowly and raised her hand to turn the nob. Riley heard the floorboard creak behind her, just as she was going to turn around, she was hit over the head and fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

Night fell and no one has heard anything from either Riley or Jackson. Ellen thought Riley was probably chewing him out for being stupid enough to think he can take out a nest of vampires alone. Although, Ellen always had that small part of her think that the worst happened to those two. Riley was a great hunter, she learned everything from her father and she did her job well. But, no one is invincible, no matter how good of a hunter you are. It was normal for Riley not to check in, if she doesn't hear anything by tomorrow, then she would be really concerned.

Of course, Ellen is always worried about her kids.

Surprisingly, the Winchesters stayed the day, talking to Ash about the demon and he told Sam and Dean to give him a few hours to work on his program that tracks down yellow eyes. The bar began to fill up with the regulars and hunters that stop in for a drink and to trade information and stories. Since Riley wasn't here, Jo was behind the bar with Ellen serving beers and drinks to whoever ordered.

Ash, Sam, and Dean all came out from the back; most likely from Ash's room, they each took a seat at the bar.

"You call us as soon as you got somethin'," Dean told Ash with a pointed look. He could only smirk and nod his head, "aye, aye captain!" Ash gave Dean a mock salute. Both brothers said said goodbye to Ellen and Jo. Dean's eyes lingered on Jo, giving her a look only she would understand.

A few hours ago, while the Winchesters waited to hear from Ash, Dean and Jo had a conversation about hunting. Jo had confided in him that she planned on hunting sometime soon and Dean told her to not get involved in all this supernatural crap, similar to how Riley had. Jo had scoffed and rolled her eyes, muttering that she didn't need to be protected by everyone all the time. Of course, Dean didn't quite understand because he wasn't there to witness the argument between her and her cousin about the topic. Their conversation was cut short when Ash called him and Sam into his room to talk more about the demon. Before Dean followed the two or them, he turned to Jo and told her to stay out of it and to not get herself killed.

Just as the boys were going to walk out the door, it swung open revealing Jackson wearing his usual smirk. Three pairs of eyes widened at the sight of him. He looked completely unharmed and carefree. His eyes scanned the bar for the blonde whom he called his hunting partner.

"Hola, everybody," Jackson greeted as he waved around a case file in the air.

"Jackson?" Jo questioned, obviously confused. She glanced behind him to see if Riley was behind him, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Dean turned to Jo, "Jackson? The same guy who called Riley this morning?" He asked her. Jo could only nod her head.

They all stared wide-eyed at Jackson. The way Riley had been talking about the guy early this morning made it seem like Jackson was in deep trouble with whatever monster he decided to tussle with this time. Sam had also noticed that he didn't even have a scratch on him and then that the girl who went after him wasn't behind him either.

"Jackson? You're okay?" Ellen asked, shocked. She eyed him up and down, checking him over for any physical injuries. Sam had seen Dean do that to him many times in the past and he would admit he would even look over Dean time to time.

Jackson smirked at Ellen and gave her a face that said 'obviously.' "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't I be okay?" He asked confused.

Dean raised a brow, "uh, maybe because you called this morning sounding like you were going to get slaughtered by a bunch of vampires? You had Riley running outta here to come after you."

Jackson paused and looked at Dean, unsure and confused, "whoa, wait a second—I didn't call anybody. I was with my dad dealing with a case of his own."

Ellen's face registered fear, "oh god."

Jo looked at her mom, just as fearful as her mother, "mom?"

Ellen looked at Ash, "Ash, can you trace that phone call from this morning?"

Dean interrupted, "okay, hold on! Somebody just call her!" Dean said looking at everyone. He understood their worries, but Sam and Dean walked into traps or whatever this was all the time. Riley seemed like a good hunter, she could've gotten herself out of whatever trouble she stepped into.

Ash pulled out his cell and dialed Riley's number. He placed it on the counter with it on speaker. After two rings it went straight to voicemail, _"you've reached Riley Harvelle. You know what to do."_

* * *

_"Are you sure you don't wanna hang on to this, Brian?" Eric asked him worriedly. He did not like the idea of keeping something that demons were apparently after. But after hearing Brian's story, he really couldn't say no. If Brian kept it, it would really put him and his daughter in danger._

_"Please, Eric. No one will know you even have it. It's warded from demons, they won't be able to sense it," he explained, looking into the hunters eyes. There was no way he was able to keep this with him anymore. Even though it was the last connection he had to his laid wife, Brian wasn't going to take the chance of getting his baby girl killed. None._

_"Alright," Eric gave in. "You owe me for this one, Harvelle," he said, tipping his baseball cap at him._

_Brian grabbed Eric's shoulder anxiously, "listen to me, if anyone ever asks what that is, you say it is an anti-possession charm that you got from another hunter, alright? No one can know what this thing is."_

_Eric looked at him for a long moment and swallowed, "yeah, Brian. Don't worry."_

* * *

Blinking slowly, Riley took in her surroundings. She quickly realized that she was still in the old farmhouse. Her head was pounding and she could feel the blood dripping down the left side of her face from where her attacker hit her. Her hands were tied to what looked like a pipe or maybe what was left of a radiator that was nailed to the floor. She made the mistake of moving her left leg and cried out in pain. _What the hell? _She looked at it and noticed what looked like a stab wound near her ankle. It hurt like a bitch!

Riley pulled her right leg towards her and crossed it under her left thigh to try and keep it elevated. She heard the back door swing open and a southern woman with red hair walked out, wearing an evil smirk. What really caught Riley's attention were the black orbs where her eyes were supposed to be.

"Sorry bout that," the redhead nodded to Riley's leg, her eyes going back to normal when she spoke. "We had to take precautions to make sure you don't leave the party too soon."

"Oh well, I am a party animal," Riley sneered. "But uh, this ain't much of a party...where are the balloons and beer?"

She heard a man snort from the back door and Riley jerked her head in his direction. He was a young attractive looking man with short blonde hair and brown eyes. "She's hysterical."

Riley felt her brows furrow as she glanced at the two demons. What the hell did they want from her? She huffed and shook her head, "well ya got me. Now, what is it exactly that you want?" She asked impatiently.

The redhead began to walk towards the kitchen table and 'accidentally' kicked Riley's bad leg, which caused her to cry out slightly. She saw the redhead smirk and mutter an apology she clearly didn't mean. The man took a seat on the couch that was covered in a musty old white sheet and looked at Riley, "told ya, Trish, that she'd come for the stupid little weasel," he said to the redhead.

Riley let out a cynical chuckle and shook her head, "mhmm...how'd you pull that off, huh?" She looked at the blonde demon who never took his eyes off her.

"Us demons can learn a trick or two in hell," he said, using Jackson's voice. Riley sent him a glare, which only caused his smirk to grow wider.

The redhead demon, who's name was Trish, practically shoved a paper into Riley's face. It was a drawing of some sort of pendant. Riley furrowed her brows slightly as she looked at the picture. She couldn't understand why it looked so familiar.

"Where is this?" Trish asked, clearly in no mood to play games.

Riley shrugged, "I don't know. I don't have anything like that," she told them. She honestly didn't. She remembered seeing it somewhere before but it was such a long time ago. It was a rusty off-gold color. It looked very old and had little cuts in it that reminded her of a pizza.

Riley's cellphone, which was no longer resting in her back pocket began to vibrate on the small coffee table where the blonde demon was resting his feet. He rolled his eyes and picked it up from the table and strode over to Riley. He passed the phone to Trish, "it's the fourth time that her hunter friends called. It's only a matter of time before one of them barges through the front door," he told the redhead, clearly annoyed.

"At least I have people who care about me," Riley quipped at him. His eyes flared and he pulled out his knife and pressed it against Riley's throat.

"So here's how this is gonna go," blondie said. "You're gonna tell whoever it is that's on the other line that you are fine and working another case a few towns over. If you say anything I don't like, I will slit your throat and whoever you're talking to. Got it?"

Riley pursed her lips tight with anger and agreed, "fine."

Trish answered the call, putting it on speaker and placing it closer to Riley so she could speak.

"Hello," Riley answered, trying to sound casual as possible. You know, not being tied up in some creepy farmhouse being held hostage by two psycho demons that were looking for some weird ass pendant she didn't have.

_"Riley! Jesus Christ, answer your phone when we call you. Look, that wasn't me who called you earlier, okay?" _Jackson's voice rang through the earpiece.

Riley let out a cynical chuckle. _Of course it wasn't you._ "Yeah, I kinda figured that. You're okay though, right?" She asked worriedly. No matter what, she would always be worried for that kid.

She heard Jackson scoff, _"dude, I'm fine. Where are you?" _He asked suspiciously. Riley was praying to whoever was listening that Ash was trying to trace the call or something. Hopefully they would figure out that she's in trouble before it's too late.

She glanced back at the female demon who quirked a brow, "uh, well, I'm gonna work another case..." She said cooly, not exactly answering his question.

_"Great. I have a case for us."_

The blade was pushed deeper into her neck and grazed it slightly. Riley groaned in pain and it didn't go unnoticed by Jackson, _"Riley? You okay over there?"_

"Just _peachy_," Riley answered sarcastically. She saw the faces of the demons and fumbled her words for an excuse, "um, just stubbed my toe. You know how that is...heh..."

_"Yeah..."_ Jackson didn't sound convinced.

"Well, I'll call you later, Jackson." Riley said and Trish hung up the phone before waiting for Jackson's reply. She got up from the floor and walked into the one of the other rooms in the house. Riley glanced at the other demon who had removed the knife away from her neck.

"Where's the pendant?" He asked impatiently.

Riley huffed in annoyance, "I don't—" before she could finish her sentence, the demon swung his fist into her face and everything went dark.

* * *

"Got'er," Ash exclaimed, disconnecting Jackson's cellphone from his laptop. "0 Bee Camp Road, Jefferson County, Indiana."

"Okay. Great," Jackson said, getting up from his seat and making his way to the door. Before he even had the chance to reach it, Ellen called after him, "where the hell do ya think you're going, boy?" She demanded.

"I'm gonna go get Riley!"

"Not without me, you ain't," she told him determinedly.

Sam and Dean looked at the two bickering and glanced at one another, having one of their silent conversations that only they could understand. The brothers both agreed with their plan and Dean cut in. "Hey Ellen, listen, we will go with him and bring Riley home in one piece, alright?"

Ellen looked at the boys for a long moment, "no, I'm coming."

"Then so am I!" Jo said, stepping towards Jackson.

"Like hell you are!" She yelled at her daughter. It was bad enough one of her kids were in trouble. She wasn't going to put her daughter in the crossfire.

Ash watched the whole scene in front of him. "Ellen, let the boys go...Riley's a tough girl, she'll be fine. 'Sides we kinda need ya here..." He said pointing his thumb towards the bar.

Ellen glared at Ash, knowing that he was right. She turned to the three of them, "I want her home in one piece, do you understand me?" She said, voice wavering.

Sam nodded, "of course, Ellen."

Jo, Ash, and Ellen watched the three of them walk out of the bar and get into the impala and drive away, speeding down the road, similar to how John Winchester had all those years ago.

* * *

_"I'm sorry," Riley said quietly. She knew what it was like not growing up with a mother. Her mom had passed away shortly after she was born. Brian never really talked about her, only a few times had she heard anything about her from him. Most of the stuff she knows about Carter was from Ellen._

_Jackson merely shrugged his shoulders and gave her a smile, "it's okay. It was a long time ago."_

_"My mom died too. When I was a baby," she told Jackson._

_"So you don't remember anything about her either?" He asked with wide, curious eyes._

_She shook her head, "nope."_

_"A demon possessed my mom when I was about eight years old, she tried to kill me and my dad, but another hunter stopped her from doing it," he said, looking at Riley. "When they got the demon outta her, she was already dead."_

_"Do you remember the night it happened?" Riley asked, fearing to know the answer. No eight year old should have that kind memory of their mother. Especially their last memory._

_He shrugged his shoulders again. Riley noticed he did that a lot. "A little. I fell down the stairs and hit my head, so it's pretty foggy."_

_Riley could only nod her head. After another minute of awkward silence she looked at the thirteen-year old, "do you want to be a hunter too?" She asked._

_He smiled and nodded his head, "I wanna save people just like the man who saved me and my dad."_

_She smiled at Jackson, "well, once I know what the hell I'm doing, I'll teach ya everything I know."_

_He returned the smile._

* * *

When Riley woke up again, her mission was to get her knife from her boot and cut the ropes that tied her hands to the radiator. She noticed that the two demons were no where to be seen. Although, she heard shuffling outside; probably going through her truck to find the stupid pendant she didn't even have.

Without trying to move her left leg, because it hurt too much to do so, she bent her right leg so she was now almost on her knees. Riley shuffled and squirmed around for several minutes before successfully grabbing the knife and she started to work on her bonds.

She heard the roar of an engine and she paused, furrowing her brows. The back door swung open and the two demons walked inside, not paying attention to Riley and they both went up the stairs, each step they took made a loud squeak and it irked the hunter terribly.

Riley listened as someone began to pick the lock on the front door and she struggled to get out of the ropes. The door finally opened and a familiar face popped inside.

"Sam?" She whispered, eyes wide with surprise.

He put his finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. She nodded her head and mouthed _upstairs_, nodding her head towards the small staircase near the kitchen. Riley noticed both Jackson and Dean follow Sam inside and Jackson rushed towards her to help cut through the ropes and get her on her feet.

She winced when she put weight on her left ankle, Jackson glanced at it and swore softly. Dean came up to Riley, "what are they?" He whispered to her, needing to know what they were up against.

"Demons. They think I have some sort of pendant," was Riley's reply. She leaned on Jackson to support herself a bit more.

Sam and Dean's eyes met and they both formulated a plan with just looking into each other's eyes. Riley always found that to be an awesome trick. She and Jo were able to do it once in a while, depending on the situation they were in.

"Alright, pain in my ass! You ready to tell us where that pendant is?" Trish yelled as she came down the stairs.

Riley looked at the three boys and noticed Sam finishing up a devils trap on the ceiling. Riley smirked at him and nodded her head with an idea.

"Okay! Fine! I'll tell you," she yelled back at the redhead. Riley watched the demon's smirk fall when she noticed the three newcomers.

"Winchesters," she snarled. "Great." She waived a hand in the air and both Jackson and Riley flew into the air and collided with the wall on the other side of the room.

"Riley!" Sam yelled when he realized that the blonde didn't move. He glanced back at the demon who had successfully walked into the trap. Both he and Dean smirked.

"What are you smiling about?" She asked angrily.

"Oh, I don't know. Why don't you see for yourself?" Dean said, as he looked up towards the ceiling. Trish followed his gaze and her eyes changed to the black orbs that if any regular person would have seen would've been running for the hills.

She screamed in annoyance and glared at Dean. "When I get my hands on you..." She started, but Dean smiled and shook his head, "you can't touch this unless you can leave that circle. And oh, you can't!" He teased.

Sam opened up his father's journal and began to read the exorcism to send this bitch back where she belongs. When he was done, he approached the redhead to check for a pulse. There wasn't any. The woman must have been dead for months now. He turned to face Riley who was in the arms of Jackson and Dean was close by.

"There's another demon..." Riley mumbled. "Upstairs..."

"Take her in the impala," Dean ordered, throwing his keys at Jackson. "Now!"

Both Sam and Dean rushed up the stairs and found a blonde young man, probably in his late twenties, confused and disoriented on the floor. Sam had tested him, saying _Christo_ and the man didn't flinch. Dean sighed and looked at his brother. _At least this guy made it out alive._

* * *

After getting out of there, Sam insisted that we dropped off the man at a hospital or a clinic to get checked out by a doctor. Jackson also pointed out that Riley should go too because the stab wound on her lower leg wouldn't stop bleeding and he was sure that a nerve or two were damaged.

Riley had slept most of the ride back to the roadhouse. She was dosed up with a bunch of pain medications from her small concussion and for her leg. It turns out Jackson had been right, Riley had damaged her tibial and sural nerves. The doctor said it would be a while before she would be back on her feet and that if the damage had been more severe, that she could have really been stuck using a crutch or cane for the rest of her life. More or less, the doctor said that she got lucky.

Jackson had called Ellen when Riley had fell asleep and told her that Riley would be fine. He was able to hear the relief in Ellen's voice after he said those words. She told him that she'd see them soon and to drive safe.

They had gotten back to the roadhouse the next morning and everyone was just plain exhausted. Ellen had hugged Riley when she saw her and yelled at her for scaring everyone like she had. Riley understood the hidden meaning behind it, _we can't lose you too._ The Harvelle family had experienced so much loss; Uncle Bill and her father. They both played large rolls in their lives and were forcibly taken away from them because of the supernatural lifestyle they were forced to live.

After everyone was settled, Ellen had sat Riley down on one of the chairs and helped her prop her leg up on another. Both Ash and Jo sat close to her. Ellen stood in front of them, while Sam, Dean, and Jackson were sitting at the next table over, still within talking distance.

"So, you wanna tell us what a'couple of demons wanted with you?" Ellen asked, brows raised.

Riley shrugged her shoulders tiredly, "they showed me a picture of some sort of pendant. For some reason they thought I had it," she said.

Sam pulled out the piece of paper that was folded up in his pocket. He unfolded it and passed it to Riley from his seat. "This?"

She smiled at him and nodded her head, "yup. It looks familiar, but I never had anything like that before." She stared at the drawing in confusion. When she looked up, Riley saw Ellen's eyes widen slightly when she caught sight of the picture. Riley frowned at her, seeing her aunt's expression. Ellen glanced at her niece and quickly covered it up, but Ellen already knew that Riley saw her face.

Jackson squinted his eyes at the drawing and then they quickly widened, "wait a second..." He pulled out a chain from underneath his shirt, revealing the very same pendant that was in the picture.

"You've gotta be kidding..." Riley breathed.

Jackson quickly took it off and placed it in Riley's hands. She looked up to him with wide eyes, "Jackson...where the hell did you get this?" She asked.

He shrugged his shoulders, "my dad gave it to me. He seemed all nervous and freaked when I went to see him. He gave me the pendant before I left and told me to protect it with my life. When I asked what it was he said that it was a type of anti-possession charm."

Sam shook his head, "no. It's definitely no anti-possession charm."

"Oh my god...is this the thing my dad gave to your dad when we first met back in Rochester like five freaking years ago?" Riley asked in realization.

"Holy shit..." Was Jackson's only response.

Jo looked between the two of them, "so what the hell is it then?"

Riley could only shake her head as she stared at the pendant, "I have no idea," she whispered softly.

Not long after did the Winchesters head out. It had been a hectic few days for them all and the boys really needed to get back on the road. Riley had pulled the boys to the side and personally thanked them both for saving her and for watching out for Jackson. She knew that if they hadn't gone with her and Jackson came on his own, that they wouldn't be standing here today. Dean had simply just nodded his head and said that it was just another day at the job, rocking his usual carefree bravado, although Riley knew he was happy to hear her thanks. He had gone to the impala to pack up the rest of his and Sam's things.

She thanked Sam once again and he had told her that he was happy she was okay. She hugged him goodbye and told him to be careful.

Later that night Riley limped into the bar that was empty except Ellen. Jo and Ash retired to their rooms a few hours earlier and Jackson went to take a shower and crash in the guest room. He had told her that it was better off if they kept the pendant in the safe down in the basement. It was warded from demons after all.

"Aunt Ellen?"

Startled, Ellen spun around to face Riley. "Yeah, honey?" She asked after she gathered herself. She knew Riley saw her expression give way earlier and now she had to explain what her daddy never could.

"What's the story with the pendant?" She asked quietly, leaning on her crutch as she looked into Ellen with her big doe-brown eyes.

"Riley..." Ellen tried, but she cut her off, "is that what got dad killed? That stupid pendant? Because seeing it now, I remember dad having it before. When I was younger, right?"

"They found you..." Ellen said softly. "Those demons didn't know about you until Gordon."

Riley felt her brows furrow, "Gordon?" She questioned, tilting her head. "What does that idiot have anything to do with this?"

"Your mom was important to the hunting world, Riley," Ellen told her. "She had something the demons wanted."

"The pendant," Riley breathed, things starting to click in her mind, "they were after the pendant?"

She watched Ellen nod her head slowly. "So they killed mom because they thought she had it," she summarized. "Killed dad because if mom was gone then he would have it." Riley shook her head, tears threatening to fall from her glassy eyes, "then that leaves me. Who didn't even know about the damn thing in the first place!"

Ellen took a few hesitant steps closer to Riley who was ready to crumble. She was in pain on both physical and emotional levels and not to mention she was confused. She had so many questions and no one to answer them. Sure, Ellen could answer some of them, but the ones she needed to ask were her parents. And her parents were dead.

"What's so important about the pendant?" Riley asked, finally gaining the strength to speak once more.

Her aunt could only shake her head. She didn't know the answer, only that whatever that pendant was held a lot of value to Carter and Brian. Ellen was sure that it would be an important object in their only daughter's life as well.

Tears finally fell and Riley broke, "my parents were murdered over a stupid friggin' pendant!" She cried. Ellen moved forward and held on to Riley, trying to calm her down by whispering that it was going to be okay and they'd figure things out. Riley could only shake her head.

She highly doubted it.

* * *

**Thoughts? I know this chapter definitely left you with A LOT of questions! But do not worry! They will all be answered in time. The only thing I'll hint to you is that it has to do with Riley's mother. ;) any guesses of what the pendant might be or why it's important? What'd you think of the flashbacks? Can I just say I cannot wait to write up chapter five! I have each chapter planned out and outlined until the end and chapter five is going to be hilarious and of course Jackson will be there. :)**

**Don't forget to leave me a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: _hey everyone! So here is chapter four! This is based of the episode No Exit. It's roughly about two or three weeks after the whole demon incident give or take. I wanted to give a big thank you to those who followed, favorited, and reviewed this story! It honestly keeps me motivated to write and I am set on completing this story! Hope you enjoy the fourth chapter! _

_Also, on a sadder note, my classes are giving me a lot of work and I don't have a lot of time to write. I'm pretty sure that updates for all my stories are going to be coming super slow. But do not fear! I aim to finish this story lol! I already planned out the ending and everything! It's all gonna be okay, I promise!_

* * *

Currently off duty for hunting, Riley decided to stick to her father's day-trading business until she was back on both feet. She didn't necessarily need to use her crutch anymore, but it put less weight on her ankle when she did and decided to stick with it.

Riley stood in front of the Venetian Hotel with her duffle on one shoulder. It was definitely one of the nicer hotels in Vegas and there was so much a person could do there—well, other than gamble. Her eyes landed on Rufus who was standing near the front entrance of the hotel. She glanced around the hotel once more, noticing the gondolas in the water. _Why the hell would people ride on gondolas in Vegas? _She asked herself as she hobbled towards the hunter.

"Riley," Rufus greeted the young hunter with his usual gruffness. He knew her since she was a pipsqueak and like Bobby, he had a soft spot for the girl. It was rare to see a hunter like herself. Riley was an excellent monster hunter and she held herself together. Most importantly, she didn't let the life consume her; even after all the crap she got hit with growing up.

"Heya Rufus," she said with a small smile. She watched his brows raise as he glanced at her crutch and braced ankle. She shrugged her shoulders, "you know how demons tend to get knife happy." She chuckled when his brows managed to raise higher and she pulled out a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue from her duffle and held it out in front of him. "Now, shall we chat about this hunt of yours that required my intel?" She asked with a grin growing on her face.

Rufus smirked when he saw her pull out the bottle. He was surprised she still remembered about his love for Johnny Walker Blue. It had been a while since he'd seen her. Probably just a little after her dad died. "Glad you remembered," he said as he held the door open for her to hobble inside.

Once both of them were settled in the hotel room, Riley snatched up both hers and her father's journals from her bag and put them on the small table near the window. The view from the room was quite nice, considering that they were on some of the higher floors. Rufus took a seat across from Riley and placed two small glasses on the table and poured his favorite drink. They clinked their glasses together and both went to take a swig of the Johnny Walker Blue.

"I think we have a pishtaco on our hands, Riley."

The twenty year old almost choked on her drink when she heard the elder hunter blurt out that piece of information. She looked at Rufus with wide, confused eyes, "a _pishtaco_?"

* * *

The Winchester brothers had pulled up in front of the roadhouse. The sun was shining bright and early that morning in Nebraska. Sam and Dean exited the car, both successfully slamming their doors in unison.

"Los Angeles, California," Dean said to his brother.

Sam furrowed his brows and looked at his brother from the other side of the impala. "What's in L.A.?"

"Young girl's been kidnapped by an evil cult."

"Yeah?" Sam asked, raising a brow. "Girl got a name?"

Dean nodded, "Katie Holmes."

Sam let out a dry laugh. "That's funny. And for you, so bitchy."

Before Dean can make a remark, the sound of glass crashing on the ground and the screeching voices of the Harvelles roared from the inside of the roadhouse. Dean turned to his brother, a smirk growing on his face.

"Of course, on the other hand. Cat fight."

The brothers opened the front door wearily and stepped inside slowly, as they watched Ellen and Jo go at each other, clearly oblivious to the two hunters that had stepped inside. Ellen was angrily walking away from the bar, yelling at her daughter.

"I am your mother, I don't have to be reasonable!"

"You can't keep me here!" Jo screamed back.

"Oh, don't you bet on that, sweetie," Ellen retorted with wide angry eyes.

"What are you going to do, are you going to chain me up in the basement?" Jo asked, voice raising several octaves.

Ellen spun to face Jo. "You know what, you've had worse ideas than that recently. Hey, you don't wanna stay, don't stay. Go back to school!" She told her daughter.

"I didn't belong there!" Jo yelled. "I was a freak with a knife collection!"

Ellen scoffed, "yeah, and getting yourself killed on some dusty back road, that's where you belong?!"

Ellen noticed Jo staring off behind her and she spun around only to see the Winchesters, both staring wide-eyed at the argument between mother and daughter. She let out an aggravated sigh, "guys, bad time."

Sam nodded his head understandingly, "yes, ma'am."

Dean shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, we rarely drink before ten anyway."

Jo held out her hand to the brothers and she grabbed the case file she made and walked over to Dean. "Wait! I wanna know what they think about this."

A family had walked into the bar, clearly tourists judging by the bright yellow t-shirts that every member wore. They stopped in their tracks when Ellen yelled at Jo once more.

"I don't care what they think!"

The man, presumably the father of the child he was carrying looked at Ellen, fearful. "Are you guys open?" He asked, voice hesitant.

"No!" Jo screamed at him while Ellen had shouted, "yes!"

The father glanced at the two and they all began to back up a couple of steps until they reached the door. "We'll just...check out the Arby's down the road." They exited quickly and the roadhouse phone abruptly rang. Jo sent it a glare and then looked at her mother as if saying: _well, I'm not answering it._ Ellen returned the glare and stomped over to the phone. She picked it up with a sigh, "Harvelle's. Yeah, preacher."

"Three weeks ago a young girls disappears from a Philadelphia apartment," Jo said as she shoved the file at Dean. He looked down at it, not really sure if he should take it. Jo rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Take it, it won't bite."

Dean glanced at Ellen then back at Jo. "No, but your mom might." He watched Jo purse her lips and send him a glare. Dean took the file from her hands, reluctant. He opened it and flipped through the papers and articles that were put together inside while Sam stood and looked at the contents from over his brother's shoulder.

"And this girl wasn't the first," Jo continued. "Over the past eighty years six women have vanished. All from the Same building, all young blondes. Only happens every decade or two so cops never eyeball the pattern. So we're either dealing with one very old serial killer, or—"

"Who put this together? Ash?" Dean asked, cutting her off.

Jo smiled, proud of her work, "I did it myself."

Dean nodded his head as he glanced back down at the file and hummed. He _was_ impressed.

Sam looked at the file and shrugged his shoulders, "I gotta admit. We've hit the road for a lot less," he said to Dean. It was true. They traveled across the United States to solve cases with much less information to go on. This time, both Sam and Dean were sure that this was a case.

Ellen had already hung up the phone and walked towards the trio. "Good. You like the case so much, you take it."

Jo's eyes widened and she spun to face her mother, eyes flaring. "Mom!"

"Joanna Beth, this family has lost enough. And I won't lose you too. I just won't," she said, not leaving any room for argument.

* * *

"I feel kind of bad, snaking Jo's case," Sam said as they entered the apartment building where the disappearances have been occurring.

Dean nodded his head in agreement. He did feel bad about stealing Jo's case, but her mother didn't want her hunting and he had made himself clear to her to stay out of this life the last time they spoke to each other. He remembered when she confided in him about how she wanted to go out to hunt and Dean had told her to stay out of it. He wished so much that he and his brother could get out of this life, but his father raised them in this life and once you're in...there is no out. "Yeah, maybe she put together a good file. But could you see her out here working one of these things? I don't think so."

They both pulled out their EMF detectors and scanned the place to see if there were any ghost activity. Dean looked at Sam, "you getting anything?" He questioned and then looked back down at his own device.

Sam didn't look back at his brother, his eyes only on the EMF reader. He shook his head, "no, not yet." He waves the device over a light switch, which caused it to react and indicate that there was something there. He peered over the black goo with furrowed brows. "What's that?"

"What?" Dean asked, coming over to stand next to his brother and inspect the goo.

Sam touched the goo and brought it closer to his face to get a better look at it. "Holy crap," he breathed in realization. His brother who was also touching the black goo had realized what it was and meant. "That's ectoplasm. Well, Sam, I think I know what we're dealing with here. It's the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man," he wisecracked, which caused Sam to roll his eyes.

"Dean, I've only seen this stuff, like twice. I mean, to make this stuff you have to be one majorly pissed off spirit." Sam told his brother, his tone serious and concerned. This wasn't your average ghost that they were dealing with. It was something a lot worse.

"All right, let's find this badass before he snags any more girls."

They both left the apartment and made their way down the hall, Sam and Dean pause when they hear voices and people approaching. They hid around the corner of the hall and listened to to voices as they got closer. Dean frowned at the feminine voice that was speaking. It sounded so familiar to him, he knew that voice. That was Jo.

"It's so convenient," Jo murmured to the landlord with a false, cheery smile on her face.

The landlord nodded his head. "Yeah, it's a great building, fixed it up real nice. All the apartments come furnished, too."

"It is so spacious. You know, my friend told me I absolutely have to come check it out, and I have to admit, she was right. You did a really good job with this place." Jo said as she glanced around the hallway.

Dean had enough and stepped out where the pair would see him. "What the hell are you doing here?" He questioned tensely.

Jo plastered a big fat smile on her face when her eyes laid on Dean. "There you are, honey," she said as she stepped next to him and hugged his waist. She looked at the landlord with the same smile, "this is my boyfriend Dean and his buddy Sam."

"Good to meetcha. Quite a gal you've got here," the landlord said to Dean.

Dean attempted to force a smile and smacked Jo's ass, "oh yeah, she's a pistol."

"So, did you already check out that apartment? The one for rent," Jo asked Dean as she looked up at him."

"Yeah. Yes. Loved it. Heh. Great flow," Dean replied stiffly.

The landlord furrowed his brows in confusion. "How'd you get in?"

Dean shrugged his shoulders. "It was open."

Jo quickly changed the subject and brought up the tenant who had previously lived in the apartment. "Now, Ed, um, when did the last tenant move out?"

The landlord didn't seem to realize the sudden topic change. Instead, he ranted on about the woman who had left without paying her rent when it was due. "Oh, about a month ago. Cut and run, too. Stick me for the rent."

Jo smiled at him, happy that she had gotten that piece of information out of him. "Well. Her loss, our gain! 'Cause if Dean-o loves it, it's good enough for me."

"Oh, sweetie," Dean said, smacking her once again. He watched Jo pull out a bundle of cash and hand it over to the landlord with a grin. His eyes widened when he heard her say, "_we'll_ take it."

* * *

Several hours of research later, Riley and Rufus were able to find information about their current monster if the week, which was a pishtaco. Riley was baffled when the elder hunter stated that was the monster killing off tourists who were staying at the hotel. She had honestly thought that the old man finally lost it. Riley even asked him if he had gone off the deep end and the reply she got was that the ship with his sanity had sailed a long time ago.

It was true. You can only stay sane for so long when living this kind of lifestyle.

Riley had dug through her father's journal to read up on the monster. He had never hunted one, but he had a friend who did. Unfortunately, Brian didn't have much knowledge of the pishtaco and how to kill them.

Since Riley was restricted due to her injury, she was left in the hotel room to do more research and hopefully find a sure fire way to kill this thing once and for all. While she was busy with that, Rufus would stakeout the hotel and hopefully get more information on its doings at the hotel.

It was discovered that the pishtaco was vulnerable to silver. Well, that's what the lore said anyway. Riley shared her knowledge with the elder hunter and he ended up hunting the thing down and killing it that same night.

_That had to be the quickest hunt of my life._

The motel room was quiet other than the dull sounds of the television that was on. Riley was sitting on one of the beds with her foot propped up on a pillow, her journal on her lap and she stared distractedly out the huge glass pane window in front of her. Rufus had taken his seat and the small table and decided to finish the Johnny Walker Blue that Riley had brought for him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help with the hunt, Rufus."

Rufus looked up at the young woman he's known for such a long time and saw sadness in her eyes. "What're you sorry for? I'm alive, ain't I? The pishtaco is dead and now we know how to put another monster down. Just don't go get yourself killed, Riley." He said gruffly, but there was love and care in his words. That was Rufus for you.

Riley hummed and didn't say anything more. One thing she knew about Rufus was that he was a man of very few words and what few words he did speak weren't usually nice ones. He was a paranoid old drunk (like Bobby) who lived a crappy life as a hunter. But even though his life wasn't easy, he made other lives better and gave people a chance to live theirs in ignorant bliss because of the job he did. The job of being a hunter.

She looked down at her latest journal entry and read it over.

_Have you heard? There are pishtacos in Vegas. This monster in particular is similar to what would be a vampire's MO except instead of going after blood, they feed on body fat. Yes, disgusting I know. What is surprising about this type of monster is that they don't usually hunt their prey. They can get their feed just fine without killing anybody, actually a lot of monsters can, but they don't seem to care. Anyway, back to the point, this pishtaco was killing people and it needed to be put down._

_After what felt like forever, I finally figured out that they can be killed like many other creatures of the night. Silver is their weakness. Silver bullet—knife—sword—axe—whatever your weapon preference is, as long as it's silver, you can kill it. I try not to be surprised anymore but I can hardly help it. It just seems as though that everything is bound to hit the fan._

_It already feels like everything's falling apart, but I have the feeling that the real trouble has barely begun..._

Riley was going to write more, but her phone buzzed loudly on the small table next to her bed. Huffing in slight annoyance, Riley stretched her hand to reach for it and glance at the screen.

_Ash_

A small smirk crept on her lips and she flipped the phone open and placed it near her ear, "you miss me already, mullet man?"

"_You know I do. But, uh...that's not why I'm calling."_ Ash's voice sounded hesitant on the phone.

Riley's smirk disappeared into a frown, "what's going on, Ash?"

"_Jo went hunting."_

Son of a bitch.

* * *

"I'll flip you for the sofa." Jo said after her eyes roamed around the apartment complex.

It earned a scoff from Dean. He did not like the sudden turn of events at all. The thought of Ellen killing him and Sam for letting Jo hunt was racing through his mind. "Does your mother even know you're here?"

_Hell_ _no she doesn't know I'm here._ Jo wanted to laugh at the elder Winchester's question. Of course not. "Told her I was going to Vegas." She shrugged The question off and took a few steps around what was considered the living room.

"You think she's gonna buy that?" Dean asked with a brow raised. He thought over the argument he and his brother witnessed at the roadhouse on the subject of Jo hunting. Ellen was about to blow a gasket. Then all of the sudden Jo would decide to go to Vegas of all places?

Jo scoffed when she looked at Dean and noticed the incredulous expression. Did he think she was an idiot? "I'm not an idiot. I got Ash to lay a credit card trail all the way to the casinos." She shrugged her shoulders, "besides, Riley is in Vegas being the supernatural traveling salesman. Mom thinks I'm going to meet up with her after she takes care of business."

Hearing Riley's name, Sam perked up and looked at Jo with his brows raised high. He knew that Riley definitely wouldn't want her cousin hunting. He wasn't quite sure who they should be more afraid of, Ellen or Riley. Sam has called her a few days after the whole demon showdown in Indiana, getting the usual hunter replies of the "I'm fine" and "stop worrying." He found his thoughts going back to her and he wasn't sure of why.

"You know, you shouldn't lie to your mom. And you shouldn't keep this from Riley. Shouldn't be here either." Dean pointed out to Jo. Sam couldn't agree more. Jo shouldn't stick around for the case, especially that she had fit the exact description of the girls who had gone missing.

"Well, I am. So untwist your boxers and deal with it."

Sam wanted to roll his eyes at her stubbornness. "Where'd you get all that money from, anyways?" he asked, curious. Jo did hand the landlord a nice wad of cash that wouldn't be normal pay when working at the roadhouse.

"Working, at the Roadhouse."

"Hunters don't tip that well."

"Well, they aren't that good at poker, either."

The argument was abruptly cut off when Dean's cellphone rang loudly. He pulled it out of his pocket, not bothering to check who was calling and put the phone to his ear, "yeah?"

_"Is she with you?"_

_Aw hell... _"Oh, _hi_ Ellen." Dean attempted to act as if Ellen's daughter wasn't staring at him with an expression that said if you open your mouth, you die.

_"She left a note she's in Vegas to go see Riley. I don't believe it for a second."_

_Of course she wouldn't believe it...it's a load of bull. _Dean placed his hand over the speaker of the phone and looked at Jo, "I'm telling her." He said, voice full of determination. Jo's expression intensifies and from Sam's point of view it looked like they were having a mental battle of what to do.

_"Dean?"_ Ellen's voice was heard on the phone.

Dean put the phone back to his ear, "I haven't seen her." He said hurriedly. Jo smirked.

Still obviously not buying it,_ "you sure about that?"_ She asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Ellen's sigh was heard on the phone. _"Well, please. If she shows up, you'll drag her butt right back here, won't you?"_

"Absolutely."

_"Okay. Thanks, honey." _With that being said, Ellen hung up the phone. Dean shut his flip phone and threw it on the table, glaring at Jo who had the biggest shit-eating grin plastered on her face.

Sam rolled his eyes at the two from his seat he had taken near the table while Dean was on the phone. This was such a bad idea to have Jo tag along with them for the hunt. True, he felt bad that he and his brother technically did snake her case, but her mother told her that she wasn't going to hunt. There was also the fact the Dean had lied to Ellen on the phone. That wasn't going to pan out well when Ellen finds out the truth.

A knock was heard at the door, Dean and Jo both turn to Sam expectantly. Sam looked at them with a frown on his face, "what?"

"What do you mean _what_? Answer the door!" Jo said, voice full of sass. He rolled his eyes as he got up from his chair and went to unlock the door.

The door swung open to reveal the one person he hadn't expected to see. Especially Jo. Sam's brows rose up to his hairline at the sight of the blonde.

Dean rubbed the back of his neck nervously at their surprise visitor. He spared a glance at Jo and knew that they were in deep trouble.

Jo's mouth dropped when she caught eye at who was at the door. Lying to her mother was one thing, but to her cousin...there were never any secrets between them and after their last conversation about Jo hunting was ended with her declaring that she wasn't going to get into this life. The whole plan of going to see Riley in Vegas completely blew up in her face.

Her eyes were only on Jo. The fake smile was plastered on her face as she leaned more on her crutch and adjusted the duffle bag on her shoulder, "heya, Jo. How's Vegas?"

"Oh boy..." Dean muttered, barely audible to everyone in the room. This is going to be a _very_ long hunt...

* * *

It would be a lie if Sam denied there was a huge amount of tension in the apartment. He hadn't expected the other Harvelle girl to appear at the front door of their newly rented apartment. But then again, he shouldn't have been surprised. Sam noticed how deep Riley and Jo's relationship was and how much they care for each other. It reminded him of himself and Dean. The funny thing was that Riley was the younger of the two and acted like the older sibling. Another thing was that they weren't even siblings, but cousins.

He spared a glance at Riley, who was glaring at Jo while sitting on one of the chairs near the table that had the blueprints of the apartment laid across it. Leaning on the table was Jo, who was either oblivious of her cousin or just ignoring it.

"This place was built in 1924. It was originally a warehouse, converted into apartments a few months ago." Jo pointed out.

Dean stopped his pacing and looked at Jo, "Yeah? What was here before 1924?" He questioned her.

"Yeah, Jo. _What_ was there?" Riley mimicked Dean's words with a sarcastic tinge in her voice. Sam and Dean glanced at each other before turning to Riley, taking in her expression which was clearly pissed.

Jo threw Riley a look before turning go Dean. "Nothing. Empty field."

Sam sighed and looked at the trio in front of him. "So, most likely scenario, someone died bloody in the building, and now he's back and raising hell."

"I already checked. In the past eighty two years, zero violent deaths. Unless you count a janitor who slipped on a wet floor." Jo told Sam and made sure to throw a smirk at her cousin as if saying _I know what I'm doing_. She then faced Dean from the table, "would you sit down, please?" Her voice clearly annoyed.

Dean noticed Riley roll her eyes as he went to take a seat next to her at the table. He understood where she was coming from. She was scared for her family. If it was Sam he would be following her lead or probably even just drag Sam's overgrown ass outta there. He mentally pictured Riley attempting to drag Jo out of the apartment complex using her crutch and had to hold back a chuckle. Getting back to business he asked, "so, have you checked police reports, county death records—" he began but was abruptly cut off by Jo, "obituaries, mortuary reports and seven other sources." She looked at Riley, "I know what I'm doing."

That earned a snort from Riley, "no, you _don't_."

Dean looked at his brother who had felt just as uncomfortable as he had been throughout this entire conversation. "I think the jury's still out on that one." He muttered. "Could you put the knife _down_?" Dean asked tensely, it was driving him nuts with Jo constantly moving the small pocket knife between her fingers.

"Okay!" Sam called out, trying to stop the tension from escalating any further. "So, uh, it's something else, then. Maybe some kind of cursed object that brought a spirit with it."

"Well, we've got to scan the whole building. Everywhere we can get to, right?" Jo asked, looking at Dean.

"Right." Dean nodded his head and formulated a plan in his head. No way in hell was Jo leaving his sight. "So. You and me, we'll take the top two floors. Sam and Riley stick around the main floor." He said, making sure to take note of Riley's injury. She wasn't a hundred percent yet and he would be damned if he let anything happen to her either.

Jo looked mildly taken back at his statement. She did not need a babysitter. "We'd move faster if we split up," she argued.

Dean smirked, his eyes sparing a quick glance at Riley who nodded in approval. "Oh, this isn't negotiable."

It wasn't long until the two groups went their own ways. Dean and Jo heading up the stairs to the last two floors they planned to survey and Sam and Riley sticking to the main levels, making things a little easier for Riley to get around. It was an unusual, but comfortable silence that the two walked in until Sam spoke up.

"You sure you're okay on that leg?" Sam asked, glancing to his right at the short blonde who was hobbling down the hallway.

She smirked at him and shook her head, "I'm _fine_, Sam. Technically, I don't even need this anymore." She said waving her crutch up in the air slightly. Give it another week or two give or take, she should fully be back on her feet. _Hopefully_.

"So...can I ask how you found out about Jo hunting?" Sam asked her, slightly hesitant. He wasn't sure if it was the right thing to ask, because he knew that Riley was not a happy camper when he answered the door a little while ago. She had every right to be upset, her cousin was out _hunting_—keeping it a _secret_ that she was out hunting. Riley was protective of what she considered hers. Sam had to admire that.

"Can I ask you why neither of you dumbos didn't call me or Aunt Ellen to let us know that Jo, genius cousin of mine was out hunting?" She questioned back. The silence hung in the air for a few minutes as they walked through the halls. Sam wasn't quite sure how to respond. Ellen did call but Dean lied saying that Jo wasn't here...then there was also the blowout between mother and daughter at the roadhouse that Riley probably didn't have a clue about.

"Well...uh...we went to the roadhouse yesterday and we kinda walked in on Jo and Ellen in the middle of a heated argument on whether or not Jo should be hunting." Sam said slowly. "Jo had put together a case file—this case that we are working; Ellen told us to take the case because Jo wasn't hunting and she was already here when we got to the apartment."

"At least you two are here with her...it's a hell of a lot better than her going on her own," Riley said softly. Sam noticed her expression and she seemed almost hurt.

Sam was right. Riley _was_ hurt. She couldn't understand why Jo wouldn't come talk to her about something like this. Hell, she couldn't believe it when Ash called her while she was in Vegas informing her that Jo was out on a hunt. _Why wouldn't she tell me?_ They considered each other as sisters not cousins...why was Jo keeping this from her? What really baffled Riley was not too long ago, Jo had told her that she _wasn't_ going to hunt. What the hell changed?

She didn't know.

Riley knew that if Jo was dead set on hunting that she would teach her herself. It was funny because Jo was the older one and yet Riley would be her mentor and teach her everything she knows about hunting. Ellen had always cracked the joke that Riley should have been the older of the two, she was more mature than Jo...well, sometimes.

In fact, Riley would love Jo to be standing on her side on a hunt. She loved that girl to pieces and knowing that they have each other's backs on a hunt made Riley want to smile. But then she thought about all the downsides of hunting: like dying. Riley wouldn't be able to forgive herself or even look her aunt in the eye of Jo died on her watch. She lost her father...that pain was enough.

It wasn't long until the four of them regrouped back at the apartment, Jo and Dean sharing the piece of information they found—well information that _Jo_ found anyway. Apparently, the ghost that was haunting the joint liked to keep souvenirs and by souvenirs, Dean meant the clumps of blonde hair that was ripped from the victims' skull.

Jo's triumphant victory smirk didn't last long when her eyes met with Riley's. She looked pissed and maybe even a little afraid. She felt the smile die down and her lips slowly pursed to a thin line. She was going to prove to Dean, Riley, and even her mother that she was perfectly capable of hunting like everyone else.

* * *

Early the next morning, the sun barely reflected through the window. Sam let out a yawn on the love seat and stretched his overgrown limbs. He glanced at his older brother who had his cheek pressed against the leather recliner in what looked like the most uncomfortable position. Sam grimaced and noticed the slight drool that hung off Dean's lips.

Sam closed his eyes, leaning forward placing his elbows on his knees and attempted to wipe the sleep off his face with his hand. He felt the couch sink in a little further and heard a slight "oof" to his right. Not moving his elbows off his knees, he glanced to the side and saw Riley smirking at him.

"Sleep well?" She asked him. Smirk still evident on her lips.

Sam's brows rose high. Both he and Dean weren't all too happy with the sleeping arrangements Jo had made for everyone last night—that she and Riley would take the bedroom—the _only_ bedroom in the complex and Sam and Dean got the couches in the living room. Sam scoffed, "like a _baby_," sarcasm dripping through his words. "How was the _bed_?"

"Oh, you mean the _floor_?" She corrected him, using the same tone of voice as he previously had. "If your idea of sleeping like a baby means horribly uncomfortable, then I _definitely_ slept like a baby." The smirk returned and she leaned back against the couch, crossing her arms in front of her chest and propping her gimp leg on the coffee table.

Sam stared at her, not believing that Riley said she spent the night on the hard wooden floors. "The floor?" He asked, baffled. "There's a _king-size_ bed in there," Sam stated the obvious. He saw the bed earlier, it looked like a nice, comfortable bed. Definitely something the low-grade motels they stayed at had. The only thing Sam and Dean looked forward to were the squeaky old mattresses and the odd stains on the comforters that leave them guessing what the hell could have caused it.

Riley shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I _noticed_. But since Jo is older, she called dibs on the bed. I honestly didn't have the strength to argue with her and wouldn't dare to share because that girl kicks like a damn horse in her sleep," she pointed out. "So it was either the floor or the window and I got a thing with heights so...floor it was."

Instantly feeling bad for being snappy with her, Sam replied, "why didn't you tell me? I would've gave you the couch. Had to be better than the floor." He watched Riley's lips tug at the corners and her eyes met with his. She placed her hand on his shoulder, "because first off, I'm not supposed to be here. Technically I'm supposed to be in Vegas—hitting up the slot machines right about now. But Ash called and told me about Jo and no way in hell was I going to let her do that alone. I didn't know you guys were here until you opened the front door. And you guys are still here, even though you could've left me to handle this with Jo." She told him honestly.

"So...I guess I didn't tell you because after everything you did, I wasn't going to kick you off the couch because I wanted my four hours on something that was probably just as comfortable as the wooden floor," Riley said, making a face as she removed her hand off Sam's shoulder and stretched her back.

When Sam didn't say anything, Riley mentally scolded herself for making this conversation awkward. He rubbed her neck uncomfortably and made a slight "heh" sound. Clearing her throat, Riley spoke up, "sorry, I ramble in the morning. I need some coffee."

Sam stared at Riley for a long silent moment. Not saying anything, Sam jumped off the couch and held out his hand for Riley to take. Her brows furrowed at it and she looked up at him confused. Seeing the utter confusion on her face caused Sam to smirk. He wiggled his fingers in a _come on_ motion, "you said you need some coffee, well so do I. So let's go get some." He told her.

Riley smiled up at him, dropping her leg to the floor and raised her hand into his, letting him pull her off the couch. To both their surprise, Riley stumbled forward, not exactly on balance because of her bad leg that the demon had stabbed a few weeks ago. Sam caught her and helped her hold her balance. Both of their faces had come close to each other, barely inches apart. Riley stared into the deep green orbs of the younger Winchester and swallowed hard, finding it hard to breathe. Unknown to her, Sam found himself staring deeply into Riley's doe-brown eyes. There was this odd feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time—a feeling he thought he'd never feel again since...

He liked Riley. She had this spunk to her that stuck out to him some how. He found it amazing how she seemed so innocent even after everything she's seen. Sam knew that behind his hazel green eyes there is something that can tell others that he had seen some terrible things in his life. And he has. Growing up fighting monsters, dealing with his father, watching his girlfriend die the same way his mother had: burning on the ceiling. He knew Riley had her fair share of terrible memories, but when he looked in her eyes, he didn't see it.

A small part of him wanted to lean forward and close the distance between them, but he quickly stopped himself and pulled away, making sure Riley could stand on her two feet...well, one and a half feet he guessed. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he asked, "you good?"

Riley smirked, "I will be once I get my coffee. Two creams, three sugars."

Sam barked out a laugh as he grabbed the keys off the table and checked his pocket for his wallet. He put his hand on Riley's shoulder and guided her to the door, "you don't take your coffee black?" He asked, surprised.

Riley simply scoffed, "no! I don't know how people can drink coffee black. It tastes like ass!"

Barely a few minutes after the couple left, Dean shifted uncomfortably on the recliner. The first sounds he heard were the sirens that blared loudly. _Ugh, what now?_ Groaning, he opened his eyes and craned his stiff neck to see Jo sitting on the table, twirling her knife and looking over the blueprints and notes of the building.

Jo smirked at Dean. "Morning, _princess,_" she roused.

Rolling his eyes at her greeting, Dean asked, "where's Sam?"

"Getting coffee with Riley."

He slowly pulled himself forward, grimacing as he felt all the kinks throughout his body. Never again will he sleep on this recliner. Sam's large ass could have it. "_Ugh_..." Dean groaned, feeling the pain in his lower back. "My back..." He placed his hands on his lower back and attempted to stretch. He saw Jo's smirk and grew annoyed, "how'd you and Riley sleep on that big, _soft_ bed?" Dean asked, similar to Sam, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Jo looked at him, "I didn't. Just been going over everything." True, Jo didn't get much sleep last night. But she had sat in that big and soft king-size bed with all her research laid out in front of her. Jo was determined to solve this case on her own. She was going to prove it to everyone that she was just as capable as every other hunter. "And Riley slept on the floor," she pointed out.

Dean scoffed, "dude, your cousin got stabbed not even three weeks ago and you won't even share the bed?" He asked incredulously.

Jo raised a brow and she looked unimpressed, "I'm older. I get the bed." She stated as if it was the law. When Dean's expression didn't change, Jo huffed and spoke again, "come on, Dean! You can't tell me you never pulled the _I'm older than you_ card on Sam to get what you want."

Dean made a slight face. He does do that to Sam...all the time. Jo's smirk returned when she realized she had won the argument and turned back to playing with her father's pocket knife and read over the papers for what seemed like the millionth time.

The elder Winchester watched Jo for a silent moment and approached the table with his duffle that was full of different weapons. Placing it on the table, Dean opened it and went through it, ruffling everything around loudly. Jo watched with her brows raised, slightly curious as to what the hell he was doing. She watched Dean pull out what she could assume was a Bowie knife and he unsnapped it from the sheath and handed it to her, hilt first. "Here."

Eyebrows still raised, "what's _this_ for?" She asked, confused.

"Work a hell of a lot better than that little _pig-sticker_ you're twirling around."

Jo pursed her lips slightly and takes the Bowie, she then grabbed her father's knife and placed it in his hand. Dean pulled it closer to him to observe the small knife and notices the three engraved letters: _W.A.H._ on the hilt. He immediately felt bad for what he did because he understood what this knife was now.

"William Anthony Harvelle."

"I'm sorry. My mistake." Dean said, taking his knife back and placing it back in the weapons bag. He understood the meaning of the knife to Jo. It was a part of her father. He looked down at Jo and noticed her staring at him oddly. The question she asked him next caught him off guard.

"What do you.. what do you remember about your dad?" She asked him, her voice so quiet. "I mean, what's the first thing that pops into your head?"

Dean shook his head. Unsure if he wants to answer that question. His father's death was still fresh in his mind and no way did he want to open up those emotions. The same emotions Dean had been trying to keep the lid on. The topic of his father was not one to really be brought up in conversation.

"Come on, tell me."

Dean looked at Jo again and saw the pleading in her eyes. Letting out a sigh, Dean sat down across from her. "I was six or seven, and uh, he took me shooting for the first time. You know, balls on a fence, that kind of thing." Dean suddenly got this soft smile as he stared off in the distance, reliving that small memory in his mind. "I bulls-eyed every one of 'em. He gave me this smile, like... I don't know." He looked down, slightly embarrassed.

Jo saw it. Letting a small smile tug on her lips, she replied, "he must have been proud."

"What about your dad?"

Jo was eyeing her father's knife on the table. Running her fingers across the engraved letters on the hilt, she spoke, "I was still in pigtails when my dad died, but I remember him coming home from a hunt. He'd burst through that door with my uncle like, like Steve McQueen or something. And he'd sweep me up in his arms, and I'd breathe in that old leather jacket of his." Jo remembered those moments like it happened yesterday. He and her uncle would come home after another successful hunt. Uncle Bryan would head straight for Riley and Jo waited for her father to engulf her in a hug. "And my mom, who was sour and pissed from the minute he left, she started smiling again. And we were...we were a family." Jo swallowed and leaned forward in her seat, looking at Dean in the eye. "You wanna know why I want to do the job? For _him_. It's my way of being close to him. Now tell me what's wrong with _that_?"

"Nothing."

Before Dean could say anything else, the front door busted open and in rushed Sam and Riley. Sam had his arm draped around Riley's shoulder, as if he was keeping her standing. One thing Dean was looking forward to was a nice cup of black coffee since the moment Jo told him. He noticed right away that there was no coffee tray with no coffee.

"Where's the coffee?"

"There are cops outside." Sam said.

"Another girl disappeared." Riley stated glumly, her worried eyes meeting with Jo, who only rolled her eyes at her. Riley was scared because she knew why Jo was doing this. To prove a point. Well, this point that she's trying to prove is going to end up getting her killed and Riley isn't going to have it.

* * *

Riley stared at Jo from her seat across the table. Sam and Dean had gone to investigate the new missing girl's apartment for any clues that can help them solve this case. Riley felt the panic and anxiety rise, her stomach twist in knots. She was scared for Jo. Out of all the times the girl chooses to hunt...she picks the one time Riley is down for the count.

So deep in thought, Riley didn't realize Jo noticed her intense staring until Jo clapped her hands in front of her face. Startled, Riley jumped back slightly and glared at Jo.

"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer."

"I know what you're doing, Jo."

"Oh yeah? What is it that you think I'm doing, Riley?" Jo asked heatedly.

"Trying to prove a point," Riley said softly. She didn't want to fight with her cousin. Jo's eyes widened slightly. "I'm your cousin, idiot," she said with a small smirk. When Jo's expression didn't change Riley let out a sigh, "Jo—" Riley tried to explain that she didn't have to prove anything to anyone, but was abruptly cut off when Jo jumped out of her chair, knocking it to the floor, "why is it okay for you to do this but I can't?! Huh?" Her voice rising several octaves. "Mom has no problem with you throwing yourself into the wolves! But me? She treats me like I'm some _porcelain doll_! Like I'll _break_! I'm just as capable as you are! I'm not doing this for fun! I'm doing this—"

"For your dad." Riley finished quietly. She looked at her cousin who was out of her seat pacing near the table. Jo glanced at Riley and scoffed at the sad expression that was on her face.

"Damn right I'm doing this for my dad," Jo huffed out angrily.

Riley swallowed and squeezed the edge of the table that she grabbed onto, "this is dangerous, Jo..."

"You think I don't know that?" Jo yelled. "My father _died_ on a hunt! I lost him _because_ of the hunt!" She sneered, "I think I know that hunting is _dangerous_, Riley." She spat. "Do _you_?"

Riley slowly pushed herself out of her chair. She placed both hands on the corners of the small table as she leaned forward, trying to keep her balance. When she raised her eyes to meet with Jo, they were full of unshed tears. "In case you've _forgotten_, Jo. My dad died too." Riley's voice was different. It sounded dark and full of pain. It was definitely a side Jo had never seen before and it honestly scared her. "I was _there_. I _found_ him. And he took his last breath _in my arms_. _Both_ of my parents are dead because of some pendant," she said lowly. Riley's voice suddenly rose, "hell, I nearly died because of the damn thing!" She huffed and shook her head ruefully. "After all the things I've seen and been through...I'd say _yeah_, Jo. I know hunting is dangerous. I've seen it with my own two eyes."

Jo didn't say anything. Losing her fire and becoming a little chagrined, she stopped pacing and stared nervously at her cousin. Riley's shoulders were shaking slightly. Just as Jo was going to say something, the door opened revealing Sam and Dean who slowly walked inside.

It wasn't hard to tell that there had been a heated argument between the Harvelle girls. Sam and Dean glanced at the now fallen chair, Jo's flushed cheeks from shouting, and Riley's broken expression.

Riley sent a hooded glance in the boys' direction. Clearing her throat, "what do ya got?" Her voice sounding gravelly. Sam noticed how her hands squeezed the edges of the table so tight that her knuckles turned white.

"Teresa Ellis, Apartment 2F. Boyfriend reported her missing around dawn," Dean replied a bit cautious.

"And her apartment?" Jo asked, her eyes never leaving her cousin.

"Cracks all over the plaster, walls, ceiling. There was ectoplasm, too." Sam responded, a frown forming on his face at the scene in front of him.

"Well, between that and that tuft of hair I'd say this sucker's coming from the walls." Riley stated as she stared at the notes in front of her. Forcing her mind to push the conversation between her and Jo to the back of her mind.

"But who is it?" Dean asked. "Building's history is totally clean."

Jo frowned as her eyes glanced on a photo that was on the table near Riley. Taking a few steps towards it, she picked it up and got a closer look. "Well, maybe we're looking in the wrong place."

Dean furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

"Check this out."

Sam leaned forward and looked at the photo. It was just an empty field. What the hell does this have to do with solving the case? "An empty field?"

"It's where this building was built. Take a look at the one next door. The windows." Jo pointed out.

Sam's eyes widened in realization. "Bars."

Dean looked between the two in shock. "We're next door to a prison?" He asked incredulously.

Riley let out a sigh, "Jo, call Ash. See what he can find about a prison being on the land." She ordered. Pushing herself away from the table, the three watched Riley hobble to her duffle and head towards the bathroom and closing the door quietly.

Jo swallowed deeply and felt guilt rise up in her of how their conversation turned out. She knew Riley was just looking out for her, but they need to understand that she isn't a baby that needs protecting. She was going to prove it to Riley. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open to dial Ash. She glanced up at Sam and Dean who were staring at her, confused.

"What?" Jo asked heatedly. She felt both angry and annoyed at the boys' gazes. It didn't take a scientist to figure out what happened while they were out. Jo was beginning to think that maybe she had taken this whole hunting thing a little to far. She understood that Riley was only trying to protect her, but it only made Jo angrier. She should be the one protecting Riley, not the other way around. Jo wished that she could take back what she said to her cousin, especially after seeing the look on her face. Jo sometimes forgot that Riley didn't have parents. Unlike her, Riley never had the chance to grow up with a mother. She had Ellen of course, but it's not the same. Jo felt incredibly guilty. Cousins shouldn't fight.

"Nothing." Was both of their awkward and mumbled responses.

It didn't take long for Jo to threaten Ash that she would rip his balls off with pliers if he breathed a word of this to Ellen. They did get the information they needed though. Apparently there was a prison that was built on this land in 1835 and was torn down in 1963. It was said that they used to execute people by hanging them in the empty field next door.

Sam let out a sigh, glancing at the bathroom door that Riley was still in. "Well then...we need a list. All the people executed there."

Jo nodded her head, "Ash is already on it." She said numbly.

Fifteen minutes later, Sam's laptop pinged, notifying him of the email that Ash had sent over. Riley came out of the bathroom freshly showered. Her dirty blonde hair thrown into a high bun, she changed into a plain black v-neck and a pair of light blue jeans. Not once did she make eye contact with Jo and it was unsettling.

Riley plopped in the empty seat next to Sam and scanned over the long list of names that could be their ghost. She turned her head to Sam when he scoffed, "a hundred and fifty seven names?" He asked incredulously. Riley closed her eyes and groaned. This case was never ending. They have barely gotten anywhere with this.

Dean looked at his brother, "we've _gotta_ narrow that down."

"Oh _yeah_," Riley agreed.

"Or else we're gonna be digging up a hell of a lot of stiffs." Dean pointed out grimly.

Riley nodded her head in agreement with Dean. She grimaced at the thought. One hundred and fifty seven possible people... It could be any one of them. She watched as Sam scrolled down the long list of names and noticed Sam stop and narrow is eyes at one of the names. She raised her brow and turned to Sam, "Sam?"

"Herman Webster Mudgett?"

"Yeah?" Jo questioned.

"Wasn't that H. H. Holmes' real name?"

Riley's jaw dropped in realization. She heard the story of the famous H. H. Holmes. She was two seconds away from smacking Jo for even putting this case file together in the first place.

"You've gotta be kidding me?" Dean asked, baffled.

"You're joking." Riley said.

Dean leaned forward and read over the information this was displayed on Sam's laptop. Sighing, Dean nodded his head and spoke, "Yep. Holmes was executed at Moyamensing, May seventh, eighteen ninety six."

"H. H. Holmes himself. Come on, I mean, what are the odds?" Sam asked looking at his brother.

Jo, who was completely lost in conversation, asked, "who is this guy?"

Dean looked at Jo, "the term 'multi-murderer', they coined it to describe Holmes." He explained. "He was America's first serial killer—before anybody knew what a serial killer was."

"Yeah," Sam agreed, "he confessed to twenty seven murders, but some put the death toll at over a hundred."

"And his victim flavor of choice? Pretty petite blondes. He, uh, he used chloroform to kill 'em." Dean paused and his eyes grew wider in realization. He looked up at the trio, "Which is what I smelled in the hallway last night. At his place, cops found human remains, bone fragments, and long locks of bloody blonde hair."

Riley let out a scoff and shook her head at Jo. "Damn it, Jo..." She cursed quietly. Jo swallowed thickly and chanced to look her cousin's way. "You really know how to pick 'em. I mean, the ghost that goes after victims that fit your exact profile—" she cut herself off and pointed a finger at her own face, "_our_ exact profile! _Blondes_!" Riley looked up at the ceiling, "shoulda went brunette while I was in Vegas..." She muttered under her breath.

Jo felt a little panic rising in her stomach. It was bad enough that she fit the profile, but so did Riley. And let's be honest, Riley isn't exactly up to hunting the serial killing ghost. "Well, we just find the bones!" She pointed out, growing desperate. "Salt 'em and burn 'em, right?"

"Well, it's not that easy," Sam cut in. "His body is buried in town, but it's encased in a couple tons of concrete."

"What?" Riley groaned, dropping her head into her hands while Jo jumped out of her chair, "why?" She questioned with wide eyes.

Dean sighed. "The story goes that he didn't want anybody mutilating his corpse. 'Cause, you know, that's what he used to do."

"You know somethin'. We might have an even bigger problem than that," Sam said, looking at his brother.

"How does this get bigger?" Jo asked, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

"Holmes built an apartment building in Chicago," Sam stated. "He called it the Murder Castle. The whole place was a death factory, they had, uh, trap doors, acid vats, quick line pits...he built these secret chambers inside the walls. He'd lock his victims in, keep them alive for days. Some he'd suffocate, others he'd let starve to death."

Both Riley and Jo grimaced at the depiction. It was a brutal and torturous death. When Jo heard Sam say that Holmes kept his victims alive for days, hope immediately sparked within her. Maybe there's a chance that the latest victim could still be alive in these chambers somewhere. "So Teresa could still be alive? She could be inside these walls!"

Dean nodded his head in agreement. No one else was going to fall victim to this ghost. "We need sledgehammers, crowbars. We've got to smash these walls, anywhere thick enough to hide a girl," he said determinedly.

* * *

_He's got Jo._

Those three simple words made Riley's heart sink. She wanted to laugh at the irony of the entire situation. Joanna Beth was going to get killed on her very first hunt. Then Riley would bring her back and kill her again. Then Ellen would come and bring her back and kill both of them. Riley grimaced at that thought. _Ellen_. Crap.

Sam glanced at Riley who was sitting on the couch staring out the window with a wide-eyed, terrified expression on her face. He looked at his brother who was also staring at Riley, guilt written in his features. Sam knew that Dean blamed himself for Jo getting caught. But, he was sure as hell determined to get Jo and that other girl outta there and kill this ghost once and for all.

"Look," Sam said, grabbing Dean and Riley's attention. "We've just gotta take a beat and think about this. Maybe we got Holmes' M.O. wrong."

"Sam, I don't think Jo and Teresa can afford for us to be taking a beat to think about this...we need to find them." Riley said, worry evident in her voice.

"Yeah, well, we'd better friggin' think fast." Dean stated. His phone rang suddenly, starling the three of them. With a huff, he pulled it out, not bothering to check the caller ID, "yeah?"

_"You lied to me. She's there."_ Ellen's voice echoed on the earpiece.

Dean swallowed his nerves. This was just perfect timing! "Ellen," he greeted, his eyes staring at Riley with a _what the hell do I say? _look.

_"No—Ash told me everything. Man's a genius, but he folds like a cheap suit. Now you put my damn daughter on the phone, hell put my niece on. She's got an asswhoopin' waiting for her too when she gets back."_

"Well—" Dean looked around the room, trying to come up with an excuse. "Jo can't talk right now...but, uh..." He fumbled for words until his eyes landed on Riley. "Riley's here!" He exclaimed. He noticed the blonde's eyes go wide and she sook her head like a wet dog would.

"No! Dean! Shut up!" Riley whispered harshly.

_"Put her on,"_ Ellen growled.

Dean practically threw the phone at Riley. Her face hardened as she glared at the elder Winchester. Placing her hand on the speaker, she leaned toward Dean, "I think you fear the wrong Harvelle, Dean..." She said lowly. "Aunt Ellen is bad, but I am _so_ much worse."

Sam barely managed not to laugh at the look on Dean's face after Riley said that. He believed it too. Riley could definitely kick ass. He watched her plaster that fake smile on her face as she placed the phone against her ear, "hi, Aunt Ellen!" The false cheer in her voice made both Winchesters cringe.

The small dropped when Riley jumped off the couch, "you're _what_?!" She screeched. "No the ghost didn't—yeah, it did take her. But we are figuring out a way to get her back!" Riley exclaimed.

Dean approached Riley and took the phone out of her hand, "Ellen, we are going to get Jo back, she'll be okay. I promise."

_"You promise!"_ Ellen repeated. _"That is not the first time I've heard that from a Winchester!"_

Dean's forehead wrinkled in confusion. What was _that_ supposed to mean? "What?"

_"If anything happens to her or to Riley..."_ Ellen started.

"It won't. I won't let it. Ellen, I'm sorry, I really am."

_"I'm taking the first flight out. I'll be there in a few hours." _Before Dean could say anything else, Ellen hung up the phone.

"Damn it!" Dean yelled.

"Don't beat yourself up, Dean. There's nothing you could have done." Sam stated softly.

"Just tell me you got something, guys...anything," Riley said looking at the two brothers desperately.

"Uh, maybe. Look. You look at the layout of the Holmes murder castle, there's all the torture chambers inside the walls, right?" Sam asked them.

"Right," both Riley and Dean agreed.

"But there's one we haven't considered yet," Sam pointed out. "The one in this basement."

Dean looked at his brother incredulously. "This building doesn't have a basement."

"You're right, it doesn't. But I just noticed this. Beneath the foundation, it looks like part of an old sewer system that hasn't been used for—" Sam started but was caught off by Dean telling both of them to go. They grabbed their jackets and weapons and headed out the door with Riley waddling behind.

_We're coming, Jo._

* * *

"I cant go in," Riley stated as the three of them stared down into the darkness of the sewer. The three of them had spent a good hour wandering outside the apartment building with a metal detector in hand to find an entrance to the sewer. When neither of the boys responded, she tore her gaze away from the creepy ass looking hole in the ground and looked at the Winchester brothers.

Both Sam and Dean shared their signature glances at each other. It was strange because most people wouldn't be able to understand what the other was saying, but their eyes spoke volumes that the other understood. Riley had understood them completely because like Sam and Dean, she and Jo would be able to hold an entire conversation with just a bat of an eye. It was interesting to watch another pair of people do the same.

Sam blew out a sigh, "we know." It was difficult as is with Riley down for the count because of her injury. Although he was grateful that the demon decided to stab her leg instead of her chest. Why it chose her leg was beyond him. One couldn't really question why demons did the things they did. They are just crazy, sadistic souls who spent too much time in hell.

"Promise me you'll bring her back in one piece," Riley pleaded with them. Dean saw the look of desperation in the blonde's face and he understood the fear of losing someone you love. He was still grieving the loss of his father, (not quite well, to put it lightly) still harboring the secret of his father's last words at the hospital. It was a secret he so desperately wished he didn't have to carry on his own, but he didn't have a choice. His brother's life was on the line.

Dean nodded his head, "We are coming back with Jo, Riley." His determined eyes searched hers as he spoke, "I'm gonna save her. That's our job, we save everyone." Dean's voice was thick of emotion and for a split second, Riley wasn't sure if he was talking about her cousin anymore. Nonetheless, she nodded her head and tried not to let the tears clouding her vision fall.

Riley watched Sam carefully climb down the ladder that led into the sewer ducts. Her eyes met with his and he gave her a slight smile before his head sunk below the ground and she could no longer see him from her spot on the sidewalk. Dean caught her gaze and nodded his head before climbing down, following his brother and to save her cousin.

It felt like hours had gone by that Riley had waited for the Winchesters to bring Jo back to her. Restless thoughts raced through her mind: _What if she's already dead? What would I do if Jo died? What if I could've done something that would have saved her but didn't? _She shuttered a breathe and her heart dropped at the question that popped into her head: _What do I tell Aunt Ellen?_ To tell a mother that she lost a daughter…the conversation played out in her mind and she cursed herself for watching that dumb Lifetime movie with Ash that one time. (They were both incredibly drunk and for whatever reason, decided to binge on the roadhouse pretzels and beer and watch a Lifetime movie.) They had spent hours afterwards reenacting scenes from the movie and went into hysterics with their horrible acting.

Back to all seriousness: Riley did not want to tell her aunt that her cousin had died on her watch. She checked her watch for what seemed to be the millionth time. It had only been twenty minutes since the boys went down. Riley plopped herself down onto what looked like a cement block and stared off into the distance. She set her mind on repeat and told herself that Sam and Dean were going to bring her back. Riley and Jo's last conversation wasn't exactly a pleasant one and no way in hell was that going to be the last conversation they would ever have. Just…no.

"Riley?" A familiar voice echoed from the hole in the ground. The blonde perked up and jumped to her feet—a little too quickly because Riley nearly face-planted on the ground before catching herself on some railing that was near the sewer. She peeked her head inside and saw Sam sticking a hand out, struggling to pull himself out. "Help me up?" He asked.

Riley wasn't exactly sure how this was going to work. It was bad enough that she wasn't exactly good on her own two feet considering her injury and Sam was down a hand and currently needed hers. She leaned over the railing and locked her good leg around it to help support herself. She bent over slightly and grabbed Sam's very large and rough hands with her own and tugged. It was a success however, Riley wasn't exactly concerned about that anymore, instead her focus was on the next person who came out of the sewer. Her hopes were quickly dying down when she saw Dean climb out instead of her cousin. _Where are you, Jo?_ She couldn't read the expression on the elder Winchester's face and it worried her to no end.

"Where is she?" Riley asked, her eyes on Dean. She watched him furrow his brows and when he gave no response, Riley spun to face Sam who was behind her. "Did you guys find her?" She felt her heart racing and felt as if oxygen wasn't being sent to her brain. Her mind was telling her that her cousin was dead.

"I'm right here, Riley." A voice that sounded like angels singing in Riley's ears spoke from behind her. It was hard to tell who got to who first, but they hugged each other in a tight embrace for a long minute. _Jesus Christ_. Riley wanted to slap the two idiots for putting her into a momentary panic. Her cousin was okay and in her arms.

"Don't _ever_ do that again," Riley muttered through her cousin's hair that had gotten tangled into her face while they hugged. Riley felt Jo nod her head and heard her promise that she wouldn't. There was a huge amount of relief for the Harvelle girls. Their previous conversation that ended off on a bad note wouldn't be their final words to each other. For a little while, Jo had actually thought that her snide remarks to her cousin would be the last thing she said. She finally understood her cousin's worries. It didn't mean that she was going to give up hunting. Jo was right, she grew up in a roadhouse that are full of hunters. Her father and uncle were hunters. Her cousin and best friend is a hunter. Jo wanted to do this, the only difference now was that she wanted her cousin on her side…and something told her that Riley wouldn't disagree.

She was right, Riley wouldn't.

The relief could only last for so long. Short after the rescue mission, after getting the other girl, Teresa to the hospital and filling up the sewer with cement with the cement truck that Dean ripped off, did Ellen arrive at the apartment. Oh and she was absolutely _pissed_. Things got really awkward during the silent car ride back to Nebraska. Dean was in the driver's seat of the impala with Ellen riding shotgun, who stared out the windshield with a fierce expression on her face. Riley sat in between Sam and Jo and sparred nervous glances at one another when Dean nervously put on the radio and Ellen abruptly turned it off, not saying a word. The little saying floated in Riley's mind: _actions speak louder than words._

It wasn't surprising that another argument sprung out between Jo and Ellen when they finally got back to the roadhouse. Ash was nowhere to be seen and Riley was surprised when Ellen asked if she could have a minute with just Jo. Her cousin spared her a nervous glance before Riley walked outside with the Winchesters. Riley grimaced and felt sorry for her cousin, who was facing the wrath of Ellen Harvelle. It wouldn't be long until she got her ass put through the ringer, but right now, she was going to thank Sam and Dean for bringing her cousin back.

Putting her hands in her back pockets, Riley leaned against her black truck that was parked next to the impala where the boys were currently standing. "Thank you both for saving Jo. I owe you so much for that."

Both Sam and Dean looked at the petite blonde in front of them. There she was with the usual hunter attire of jeans, boots and a flannel staring up at them with her big brown eyes. Sam could see that her thanks was sincere and that she really was grateful for what they did. Riley told him before that she was grateful that they decided to stick around and help Jo solve the case instead of bailing when Riley came in. He couldn't help but think of what the outcome would be if he and Dean had decided to leave. Most likely, Jo and Riley would have been Holmes next victims and they would just be that. Two more victims of some supernatural death. Sam was happy that wasn't the case.

"That's our job, Riley. We save who we can," Dean stated, his tone nonchalant but both Riley and Sam knew that his words spoke volumes. Not many people thanked hunters for what they did. Hunters are basically the silent heroes that only a very few people ever notice. So receiving thanks once in a while for putting their lives on the line was a blessing to Sam and Dean Winchester.

Riley's brows furrowed in confusion when the front door of the roadhouse bursted open and the other blonde rushed out, looking absolutely enraged. Dean looked at Sam and Riley and decided that he would approach Jo. Watching Dean walk away, Riley made a face, "ugh. I'm next."

Sam chuckled slightly. "You'll be fine, Riley." He turned to face her to ask her something else but cut himself off when he noticed her expression and intense stare at the couple that was just fifteen feet away. His brows furrowed as he looked in their direction and saw Jo smack Dean's arm away and yell at him to get off.

"Come on," Riley muttered, without thinking, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her a few feet closer to Jo and Dean, who was walking back to the impala but stopped when Jo said something that all three of them heard.

"Dean," Jo called out. She spun around to face him, her face held an intense expression. "It turns out my dad had a partner on his last hunt. Funny, because he usually worked with Uncle Brian but he couldn't for this case." Her eyes went past him and met with Riley, who frowned even more. She remembered the situation, but it was hazy. Riley had gotten sick and ended up in the emergency room that night. She needed her appendix removed and Brian rushed out to be with his daughter. Both she and Jo were really young so it wasn't exactly easy to remember everything either. Jo's eyes slowly laid back on Dean. "So, he asked another hunter to lend him a hand—someone he considered _family_. What a mistake that was. He screwed up and got my dad killed," She spat out angrily.

Dean shook his head in confusion, "what does that have to do with—" he tried to ask, but was abruptly cut off by Jo and the words she spoke clicked into Dean's mind on why they never knew about the Harvelles.

"It was your _father_, Dean."

It felt like all the air had disappeared when Jo said that. Riley's eyes widened and she gaped at Jo and then at Dean. That was a freaking surprise. But Riley couldn't understand why Jo was pissed at Dean. He wasn't his father, saving her life should've proved that much.

"What?" Dean breathed out in question. All three of them were surprised at the bit of information that was revealed that day. Jo's face scrunched up and she was holding her tears at bay, "Why do you think John never came back? Never told you about us?" She asked him venomously. "Because he couldn't look my mom in the eye after that, that's why!"

Riley dropped her hand from Sam's grasp and she stared at Jo with wide, shocked eyes. Why hadn't she known about any of this? Did her father know before he died? Dean looked taken aback, "Jo…"

"Just…just get out of here. Please just leave," she said, her voice broke at the end of her words. Riley looked at Sam who was staring at her with a sorry and guilty expression. She watched both Sam and Dean slowly walk back to the impala and drive off. The beautiful black classic car disappearing into the sunset. Riley looked at her cousin, who was barely holding herself together, shoulders shaking. Jo put a hand over her mouth to try and silence the sob that escaped her lips. Riley strut forward and hugged her cousin tight as she stared off where the impala drove off. One thought on her mind:

_What happens now?_

* * *

**So that was one big shit fest, eh? I apologize for this chapter to take over two months to freaking publish! I just started my first year of college and the work is a bitch! I have been working on this chapter on and off since August! And I cant even tell you guys how happy I am to finally have it posted! I hope it does all of you guys justice since I made you wait for so long! Also, LONGEST CHAPTER EVER WRITTEN WHOOP! Like I said in the author's note, things are going to be coming a bit slow for now unfortunately. But, if it makes you feel any better, I already have the ending written out. I'll give you a hint: get your tissue boxes ready because I actually cried writing it. THIS STORY WILL BE FINISHED. I PROMISE. **

**Big thanks to all my favorite, follows, and reviews! Reviews are really motivating and I love to hear from all of you so PLEASE REVIEW! Also, check out my tumblr (Link is on my profile) for updates and manias for this story and my other ones! Love you all & thanks for the support! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** _So here is the long awaited chapter five! Prepare yourselves for a good laugh! I could not wait to write this chapter as I stated in previous author's notes! I managed to put this together a lot quicker than normal since I already had half the scenes written out, but this should be it for a little while until my professors calm the hell down and decide to give me a break! I thought it would be a good idea to have some bonding time with our new hunting team Riley and Co. Enjoy and don't forget to leave a review!_

* * *

Riley put the car in park and stared at yet another dingy motel that she would be staying at during another hunt. She sighed, turning off the engine and opening the door to let herself out. She immediately spotted the blue jeep and the familiar young man with spiky dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes leaning against it. A lazy smile formed as she approached her hunting partner. "Hey Jacks."

"Hey yourself," he greeted with a nod. He took in his surroundings. The place was fairly empty and the street was awfully quiet. Camden, Indiana wasn't a town that particularly attracted tourists. Only a few hundred people actually lived in the area and stuck to themselves. It was a normal rural area that had the usual amount of death rates and crimes committed as the next town. Well, that was until six people died within a week. Apparently, it happened in pairs both a male and female. Within the last forty-eight hours that they were seen, witnesses said that they were acting strange and just not like themselves. It was odd to say the least.

"You talk to the coroner?" Riley asked Jackson. He had called with the case yesterday morning and Riley practically threw herself out the door. Riley would be lying if she said she wasn't itching for a case. It felt good to finally be back on her own two feet. She had told Jackson that she would meet him there and to see if he can get in with the coroner and get a look at the bodies in hope that maybe it could shed some light on just what the hell it was that they were dealing with over here.

He nodded his head and blew out a sigh, "yeah. Riley, I don't know what to tell ya. It gets weirder and weirder." Riley raised a brow in question and nodded her head for him to elaborate. "The coroner doesn't even know how they bit it. They just…_did_."

Riley made a face, "well…that's totally _not_ normal. I mean—aren't these guys like—oh, I don't know—too _young_ to be dying of natural causes or something?" She questioned, completely baffled at what the hell they were dealing with here.

"I would think so," Jackson quickly agreed. He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and read it out loud for Riley to hear, "Jason Freedman, twenty-one and Caroline Becket, twenty. First ones to go. Anthony Lazuli, twenty-three and Jamie Roberts, nineteen. Second couple to bite it. Then on Tuesday, Jonathan Warden, twenty-two and Tabitha Brady, eighteen." He shook his head as he folded the list back up and put it in his pocket. "I looked into them, they're clean—no felonies, nothing. They were just normal people," Jackson explained, just as confused as Riley was. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Did these people know each other?" Riley asked. She noticed Jackson pause and think for a moment. He pursed his lips and huffed, "didn't look into that yet."

"Uh huh…" Riley said, unconvinced.

"I was going to though," Jackson said, trying to cover up his mistake. It should have been one of the first things to research: if the victims were connected in any way. Did they go to the same school? Work in the same building? Eat the same bagel—anything really. Usually, there is always a connection between the victims.

"Sure you were, J" Riley agreed, sarcasm dripping in her voice and a smirk on her lips.

Jackson rolled his eyes and looked over Riley's shoulder. "Where's tweedle dum, tweedle dee?" He asked curiously.

"Inside, checking us in."

Speaking of the devil, the blonde that was also known as Jo Harvelle walked outside of the lobby of the motel, spinning the room key on her index finger. "Room seventeen. Jackson—Riley—one of you get my crap, would ya?" Jo asked as she opened the door to their room and let herself inside.

Both Riley and Jackson glanced at each other, having a staring contest at who would bring her duffle inside. Riley clapped her hand in front of Jackson's face, causing him to blink. He scoffed and shook his head, "no fair! You cheated!" He whined. Riley let out a snort as she opened her trunk, grabbing her duffle and tossing it over her shoulder. She carelessly grabbed Jo's and threw it at Jackson, who caught it making a loud "oof" as it slammed against his chest.

Riley began to walk towards the room, ready to face-plant onto a pillow. It was a very long drive with Jo in the car blasting her music and listening to her tone-deaf singing. That girl was going to make Riley go deaf one of these days.

"Hey Riley?" Jackson called out. The young hunter turned around and raised a brow. There was something different about Jackson's voice when he called her. Suspicion and concern rising, Riley answered, "yeah?"

"You haven't talked to my dad by any chance have you?" He asked nervously. The question made Riley furrow her brows in confusion. It had been a little over a month ago since she heard from Eric Hallowell. He called after the whole demon incident to make sure she was okay and to watch out for Jackson. Nothing out of the norm for Eric, anyway.

"No…I haven't. Why he hasn't checked in?" Riley asked, her brows still furrowed.

She watched Jackson slowly shake his head. "Last time I talked to him was when I went to go see him about the shifter case. You know, right before the pendant situation," he informed her. That was weird. Okay well, not that weird. Eric had a habit of not checking in for long periods of time. That was one of the reasons why he asked Riley to watch out for Jackson. Eric had his own story and demon to hunt down. The same demon that killed his wife and Jackson's mother. He never spoke about it or if he ever found a lead on the demon that destroyed his family.

Riley was going to say something, but she was cut off by Jo shouting from the door of their motel room to get their asses inside and to bring her duffle inside. She watched Jackson sigh and walk towards the motel with both his and Jo's bag in tow. As soon as they finish up the case here, she and Jackson will take a trip to the cabin and see what Mr. Hallowell has been up to.

The usual amount of bickering went on for the next several hours in room seventeen of the Camden Inn. Jackson had set out to pick up dinner from the small-town diner that was just down the road. The hunter stated that those who helped him weren't friendly in the least and most likely just wanted to boot his ass out of their town. Riley made a remark that it was just probably him that they wanted to throw out of town because he had that effect on people. That only resulted with more of their witty banter and gave Jo free entertainment while eating her burger.

A little while later, Jackson was sound asleep on one of the queen sized beds, snoring softly. Jo was sitting at the small table with her new laptop that she purchased about a week ago. She managed to make two grand off the poor saps at the roadhouse and decided to spoil herself. Now that she was hunting, she needed it to do her research. The screen gave off a blueish-white glow to the Harvelle's face as her fingers typed on the keyboard, the tapping noise echoing throughout the small motel room.

Riley was currently on the other bed, lying on her back, reading over several papers that had information on the victims. She glanced up at the ceiling and titled her head at her reflection above her. "Now, that is just what I like to wake up to in the morning. My freaking face," Riley said sarcastically. It earned a snort from her cousin and a shake of her head.

"I call it the hooker ceiling," Jo replied to her cousin. Riley pushed herself up on her elbows and stared at her cousin with raised brows. "That's disgusting, Jo." Riley remarked with a disturbed face. "I do _not_ want to think about the dirty people did on these sheets," she said while she pinched up her nose and pursed her lips.

Jo let out a chuckle and began to read over an article that was published in the early seventies. Apparently, there was a town club that the younger generation at the time was a part of. It was a big deal, which was understandable given how small the town actually was. She furrowed her brows as she read about the sudden death of Carl Quinn. _What the hell kind of name was that?_ He was one of the two people who ran the club. The other leader was a woman, Carl's wife, Adrienne was left to deal with the loss of her husband and her son Tyler who was only eight years old. He died a month before his father did. It was a heartbreaking story, actually.

Jo did more digging and found the list of the twenty people who was a part of this so called club. It didn't take long for Jo to make the connection that these victims were the children of those who was a part of this club back in the seventies. Only twelve of them had stayed in Camden. The other eight people scattered over the states and Jo found articles of their untimely deaths along with their children. For whatever reason, the deaths happen in pairs; one male and female. It sounded witchy to Jo. Maybe this club wasn't a club at all. Maybe it was some sort of cult.

"I think I know what we are dealing with, Riles," Jo said softly as she stared at her computer screen. Riley jumped off the bed and approached her cousin. She leaned her elbows against the table and read what Jo had displayed on the screen. Riley felt her eyes widen, "are we dealing with a witch out for revenge?"

Jo looked at her with a somewhat disturbed expression, "that is what I was thinking."

Riley huffed and slunk into the wooden chair across from her cousin. "Great," she muttered sarcastically. "Because witches are just _delightful_."

Jo closed her laptop and leaned back in her own chair, letting out a sigh. It had been a long day driving with Riley. Her mind kept going back to the argument with her mother before she packed up and left with her cousin. Jo had a lot of pent up anger residing inside her. Angry with her mother. Angry with the Winchesters. Angry with her cousin. Angry with herself. Riley had made the mistake of asking Jo why she blew up on Dean a few weeks ago and Jo snapped at Riley telling her to drop it.

She wasn't sure why she was angry with them, honestly. It wasn't like they knew what their father did. They didn't even know who she and her family was until they walked into the roadhouse a few months ago. So why did she want to blame them?

"Jo?" Riley called softly from her seat.

"Yeah?" She asked, pulling herself away from her thoughts. She looked at Riley who had a concerned expression on her face as she stared at her cousin intently.

"You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I don't know… maybe that your like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off and your emotions are going to kill us all," Riley threw out there with a shrug of her shoulders.

Jo instantly rolled her eyes. So much for putting that to the side. She sent a glare at her cousin, "Shut it, Riley." Jo snapped back. "I'm _fine_."

"And I'm Jesus Christ," Riley quickly retorted. When Jo rolled her eyes again, Riley let out a sigh. "Look, I get it, Jo. You're pissed and you have every right to be," she stated. Jo raised her brows slightly and waited for her cousin to continue. "_But_, you being mad at the world ain't gonna do us any good." Riley took a beat and when she realized Jo wasn't going to make a comment she said, "if you wanna talk, I'll be here to listen, okay? Thats what all I wanted to tell you. Don't get your panties all in a twist." Riley said with a small smirk. She pushed herself off her chair and crawled into her bed, grimacing at Jo's earlier comment about the hooker ceiling and the thoughts about what couples probably did on this very bed. She glanced at Jackson, who was in a dead sleep with his mouth wide open, ready to catch any flies. "Night Jo."

Jo wished her a goodnight and stared out the small window that was next to the table. Her mind raced through what her cousin had told her and back to the previous conversations with her mother and the Winchesters. She glanced at the cot she was stuck sleeping in that night and made note to herself that she wasn't going to get much sleep anyway.

* * *

**Twenty-four hours later.**

"Don't you freaking move!" Jackson screamed at the crazy old hag who was behind all the murders. In front of the trio was Adrienne Quinn, the woman who ran the club back in the seventies and lost her son and husband to natural causes. Thanks to Jo, they were able to put it together that the club that was being run here wasn't a club at all, but an cult that had gone mad with magic. Adrienne and Carl were teaching people black magic. It was stuff that nobody should mess with, but of course, there are always the few idiots who do it anyway. Like this one for example.

There was a small house that looked abandoned in the small town. It had apparently belonged to Adrienne and her family, but when they had asked around the town, the few people who had actually took the time to speak to them had told them that Adrienne had disappeared years ago. Deciding to go check up on the house, Jo, Riley and Jackson run into the crazy bat who was set on doing another spell. Apparently, there was another pair of people she needed to kill before she had successfully avenged her husband and son's death.

The old African American woman screeched that she and her husband had warned the group about practicing the arts of dark magic, but they didn't listen. She screamed to them that it would only result in death and it did. Adrienne had lost her family to this cult. And to avenge her husband and son, she was going to make every single one of them suffer and feel the same pain she did for all these years by killing their children with a spell. Then she would kill them too. _Crazy old witch_, Riley thought as she shook her head at the woman. Her hair was wild and went in all different directions as she screamed to the ceiling that she'd kill them all.

Jackson had enough and aimed his gun at the old bat. When he pulled the trigger to shoot, the thing jammed. _Damn it._ Riley went to grab the gun out of his hand and shoot, but like children, they fought over the gun.

"Give me the gun, J!" Riley said as she tried to tug it out of his big, rough hands.

Jackson scoffed and pulled back as if someone was stealing a toddler's stuffed bear. "No! Riley! Give it back!" He tugged on it more and they went back and forth, fighting for the gun.

"Let _go_!"

"Jackson!"

Both Adrienne and Jo stared dumbly at the couple who fought over the gun like they were in the second grade. Riley had lost her gun when she went flying across the room thanks to the witch a few minutes ago and now she really needed to end the crazy bitch.

"I don't like fighting!" Adrienne screamed. "Fighting is what got my Carl and Tyler killed! And now you wanna kill me?" Her voice rose angrily and it caused Riley and Jackson to falter.

The hag bowed her head and raised her arms and began to mutter what sounded like a spell. _Not good. _"See what you did?" Jackson yelled over the howling wind that begun as the witch chanted her spell.

"Me?" Riley said incredulously. "If you would've given me the gun this would have been done and over with!" She yelled back.

"Alli permutat anima kimota. Alli permutat anima kimota. Alli permutat anima kimota!"

_That's it._ Jo had enough of this crap. She pulled out her gun and shot the bitch in the chest. The three of them watched Adrienne smile oddly and she let loose this horrid screeching laugh that made all of them want to cover their ears. She pointed a finger at Riley and Jackson, "Have fun, children." With that being said, she dropped onto the ground, eyes open and stared blankly at the ceiling, dead.

Jackson felt the need to reassure himself and walked a couple of steps forward and nudged his foot onto Adrienne's side. He looked up at Riley and Jo, "I think she's dead."

Both Riley and Jo shared a glance before they silently walked out of the house with Jackson following behind calling for them to wait up and not leave him there with crazy pants.

* * *

The sun rays peeked through the blood red curtains of the motel room. Jackson was lying on his stomach, face planted in the pillow. He bellowed out a sigh of relief that he and the Harvelle girls had survived yet another case. He silently thanked whoever watched over them because living this life—a hunter should be grateful that they get to experience another sunrise. You never know when it would be your last. He absently thought of his mother and if she knew that when she woke up on the day she would become possessed and die, if she knew… of course he didn't mean like know how she was going to die, but did she have a feeling or something? Death was so confusing for Jackson. He hadn't experienced much of it considering how young he was when his mother died. He remembers bits and pieces of her, but it's almost like a fog. Maybe his brain was forcing him not to remember so he wouldn't see what he was missing. He didn't quite know.

_God, it's too early to be thinking such morose thoughts._ Jackson rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He let out a loud yawn and frowned at the sound that came out of his mouth. _That's weird…_ He slowly opened his eyes and gawked at his reflection on the hooker ceiling.

Riley's eyes were the ones that stared back at him.

He slowly rose his hand and touched his face, trying to contain the initial shock and not to freak out. He prayed to whoever was listening that this was just some horrifying dream and not a reality. His eyes grew larger when he noticed the dark purple nail polish that had been on Riley's nails yesterday. Jo had made a comment about it while they approached Adrienne's house last night. _What the hell is happening?!_

Jackson swallowed deeply and turned his head in the direction of the other queen size bed where…

There was a loud piercing scream that escaped his lips as he stared down at his own body in the next bed over. He watched his body jump, obviously startled. Bright blue eyes laid on him, they widened and then joined Jackson, letting out a scream of her own.

In the other bed was Riley, in a very similar state as Jackson: they were no longer in their own body.

Jo barged out of the bathroom with weapon in hand, trying to figure out what the hell had the two idiots screaming like lunatics. When she didn't see any immediate danger she looked at Riley and Jackson incredulously, "what the hell is the problem?" She yelled.

Jo looked at Riley, who was dressed in a tank top and her flannel pajama pants. She jumped off the bed and stared at Jo with wide, disturbed eyes. "The _problem_?" She asked slowly. "Oh, I don't know… maybe the fact that I now have _boobs_!" Riley's voice screeched. Jo spared a glance at Jackson, who was staring mouth agape at Riley. It was like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Turning back to face Riley, "uh, _newsflash_, Riley: girls have boobs!" She yelled at her cousin incredulously. _Christ_. Ellen wasn't kidding when she said that Riley and Jackson hunting together would be an interesting time. She heard all the bizarre stories Riley would tell when she'd come back from a hunt, but she couldn't understand what exactly had these two so riled up this morning.

"I know _that_, dumb ass," Jackson growled from behind her. Jo spun to face him and gave him her best bitch face and wondered why the hell he replied. "Okay, would one of you please tell me just what in the hell is going on right now?" Jo asked pleadingly.

Jackson let out a sigh, "I don't think the witch is dead, Jo."

Standing behind Jo, Riley was jiggling her boobs and wore a shit-eating grin, "and I have boobies!" She stated once again, except this time it was like she was more content with the current situation at hand.

The piercing blue eyes rolled and he let out a scoff, "would you stop feeling me up, J?" Riley asked, growing more anxious and nervous by the second that she wasn't speaking with her own voice. "It's making me feel freaking uncomfortable."

Jo turned her head back and forth between Riley and Jackson and it clicked. "Oh, you've _got_ to be shitting me."

* * *

"So… run this by me again—like I'm a child. You woke up and…" Jo said slowly from her seat in the booth of the diner. Across from her was Jackson, who was gawking at the waitress he had seen the night before.

"And I was in Riley's body…" he trailed off as his eyes followed the blonde bimbo. Riley had come back from her second trip to the men's room this morning. She plopped herself next to Jackson and looked at him incredulously, "jeez, what are you? Ninety years old? You have the bladder of a friggin' old man."

Jackson tore his gaze away from the waitress and glared at Riley. "Shut up, I have overactive bladder syndrome," he informed her. Both Jo and Riley's brows shot up in surprise.

"Really?" Jo questioned.

"How come we don't normally see you in pull-ups and running to the toilet?" Riley asked with a smirk. She loved to push Jackson's buttons.

Jackson returned the smirk and noticed the waitress coming their way to take their order. He grinned wider and without taking his gaze off the waitress, he said, "well, that's why I'm on medication for it."

"What?" Both Jo and Riley asked in unison. Their question wasn't heard by Jackson, his primary concern was how he was going to get this waitresses number.

Jackson nodded his newly blonde head and put on the most flirtatious expression on his face. Riley found in incredibly disturbing that he was using her body to pick up some chick. Then she had to hold back a laugh when she noticed the waitress' face when Jackson said, "how you doin'," with a slight nod of improvement when his eyes trailed down her figure. The waitress just scoffed and shook her head, "um—_ew_." Her voice was incredibly high pitched like she had just breathed in an entire tank of helium.

Jo covered her mouth with her hand as she stared down at the laminated menu in front of her, barely holding back her giggles. Jackson huffed and seemed to realize that he wasn't in his body at the moment. He rolled his eyes and looked at the waitress, "_right_… I'll have the pancake stack, please." Jackson said defeatedly as he passed her the menu.

Riley had ordered a coffee and a blueberry muffin and Jo asked for an omelet with orange juice. When the waitress left the table, none of them spoke for a long moment. Jo immediately bursted into giggles and both Riley and Jackson glared in her direction. "oh, come _on_! 'How you doin'?'" She mimicked Jackson's attempt to flirt with the waitress.

It was rather funny to see Jackson try and pick up another girl while inhabiting Riley's body. She noticed a younger gentlemen, probably twenty-three or twenty-four years old, sitting on one of the stools near the counter. Riley felt a smirk tug on her lips as an idea formed in her mind. _Two can play at this game…_

Pushing herself out of the booth, Riley strut forward to sit next to the man near the counter. Riley noticed that he was sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper. It actually surprised her when she realized he was solving this weeks crossword puzzle. _Look at you Mr._ _Smarty-pants._

Jo barely held back a laugh as she watched Riley walk towards the counter. It looked so strange because all of the mannerisms weren't Jackson's, they were Riley's. And watching Jackson's body walk like a woman would was beyond hilarious for the hunter.

"Shut up, Jo." Jackson growled from his seat as he cautiously watched Riley and tried to figure out what her intentions were. When they first got to the dinner, Jackson had slumped into the booth with his legs wide open and completely unladylike. Riley elbowed him and grimly reminded him that he was now a woman and to start acting like one. He was beginning to think that maybe he should tell Riley to be a man.

"Hi," Riley said to the man sweetly. It was so out of the norm for a random dude to just come up to another random dude and start up conversation. She watched the man furrow his brows as he stared into what really was Jackson's blue eyes. The man smiled slightly, "hello there." His voice was husky and low. If Riley were in her own body, she would probably think it was a turn-on. She couldn't complain, the guy was pretty good looking.

"So…" Riley said and pointed a direction back at the booth where Jackson and Jo sat. "My friend over there—in the purple flannel, is really into you. I know this probably sounds super weird and creepy, but she is my best friend really and we know each other inside and out," Riley babbled and started to think how ironic that statement sounded. They literally knew each other inside and out these days considering the current situation.

"So…I was wondering if we are still in town tomorrow…" She trailed off when she noticed him grabbing a napkin and jotting down a number. He slid it across the counter, "here's my number, I'm Ben by the way."

Riley grinned as she picked up the napkin, "R-_Jackson_!" She quickly corrected herself. "My name is Jackson."

"Well Jackson, tomorrow…" Ben scrunched up his face in thought, "eight o'clock? Call me and I'll come pick you up."

Riley nodded her head, not realizing that it was directed at her and not for Jackson. "Great, awesome!"

It was so quick that Riley didn't even have a moment to process what happened next. Ben had jumped off his stool and put his hand behind Riley's neck and pulled her into a kiss.

Back at the booth, Jo bursted out laughing on how the scene played out. She glanced at Jackson and laughed even louder. He looked absolutely disgusted and disturbed. "Oh my god!" Jo cried with laughter. They watched the man named Ben release Riley who was completely stunned at the turn of events. _That was not what she was expecting._ Ben had said to call him and gave a smack to the ass which had Riley squeal in surprise.

Completely mortified, Riley slowly walked back to the booth and sat down with wide eyes. Jackson glared at her with a fierce expression, not saying a word.

_Whack! _

Riley cried out and looked at Jackson incredulously. Did he just slap her in the back of the head?! "Jackson! What the hell?" Riley yelled.

Just then, the waitress came with their breakfast and placed it down on the table. She glared at both Jackson and Riley and then proceeded to slap Riley in the back of her head. Startled and utterly surprised, she looked at the waitress, "what the hell was that for?!" She shouted.

"For trying to pick me up yesterday and then swapping spit with Mr. Sexy over there not even five minutes ago!" The waitress yelled back.

_Jesus Christ. _This was so not her morning. Riley looked at Jackson, "you were trying to pick her up yesterday too?" Riley wanted to die of embarrassment. She felt Jackson's cheek flush red and then had the sudden urge to use the bathroom once again. This whole situation was absolutely ridiculous.

The waitress looked at them oddly before scoffed and left them to themselves. Jackson looked at Riley, "you kissed a man with my lips, Riley!" He said frantically. "Incase you haven't noticed… I do _not _swing that way!"

"Shut up, J. That_—_" She pointed in the direction of the young man that was walking out of the diner, "was _not_ supposed to happen." Riley said breathlessly. They needed to find this witch _now_ and get back to their own bodies.

Jo was shaking, trying her hardest not to burst out in another fit of hysterics. She couldn't hold it together anymore and let it loose, barely able to stay in the booth. Her stomach clenched and she couldn't catch her breath from laughing so hard. Jo honestly thought that their stories were exaggerated, because she didn't think that these two could actually get into such ridiculous situations like this. She was clearly proved wrong and for once, she was happy that she was wrong.

"Shut up, Jo!" Both Riley and Jackson hissed at her. It only caused the Harvelle girl to laugh even harder.

* * *

Things didn't calm down once they reached the motel. In fact, Jo thought that the bickering escalated a lot more when it was time to shower. She heard yelling from the bathroom between her fellow hunters about hygiene.

"Riley—_ow_! Are you trying to rip my head off?" Jackson's yelling was heard through the thin walls of the motel room. Jo snorted and shook her head from her seat at the table. She had grabbed the witch's spell book back at the house and was going through the pages. Jo noticed that one page was folded on the edge slightly and read what was on it. She felt her eyes widen at the sight of it. The spell she cast on Riley and Jackson was the same spell or at least very similar spell that was cast on the previous victims._ Damn it_.

It was a rare spell that most witches didn't mess around with. Of course they would run into one that would have the balls to play around with such dark magic because that was just their luck.

"Jackson… I swear on all that is holy… hold _still_!" Riley bellowed from the bathroom. Jo didn't pay much attention because her focus was solely on this spell. Souls are very complex and it makes a person who they are. Basically spiritual DNA. And because of that, a soul cannot last in any other body other than its own because it simply wasn't designed for that body. Jo's eyes widened when she read that the lifespan of those who had the spell casted on them didn't usually pass the forty eight hour mark.

"Guys! Get in here!" Jo called, voice panicking.

The door slammed open and Jackson stomped out and slumped in the seat across from Jo. Her eyebrows rose at his appearance. His hair wait dripping wet and in knots. Riley had immediately followed with a brush in hand and headed straight for Jackson. His eyes widened and he jumped out of the chair, "no! Not again…"

"Let me get the knots out of my hair, Jackson!"

Jo watched the scene play out incredulously. From her view it looked like Riley who was in Jackson's chasing Jackson who was in Riley's body with a hairbrush around the small motel room. They were jumping over the beds and somehow managed to knock down one of the chairs near the table. _Christ._ Apparently, Riley had enough and tossed the brush in Jackson's direction, successfully smacking him in the back of his head. "Damn it Riley!" He roared. Jo wasn't quite sure how exactly it happened but in the mist of things, Jackson managed to knee Riley where a man wasn't supposed to be kneed. She watched her eyes grow wide and Riley lost her breath. "_Man_ down…" Riley painfully whispered as she dropped on the hideous and filthy beige carpet.

Jo, completely baffled turned to face Jackson, "why the hell did you do that?"

Jackson simply shrugged and ran a hand through Riley's blonde hair. "Now she knows what it feels like to get nailed in the baby-makers."

"They're _your_ balls, Jackson!" Jo snapped back as she bent down to check over her cousin.

Jackson made a slight face and looked like he regretted his actions. "It was a spur in the moment kind of thing!"

"Well, there is going to be another spur in the moment when we get our asses back in our own bodies and I freaking throw a brick at your _baby-makers_, J!" Riley warned from her position on the floor. Letting out a shaky breath, she muttered, "I think I might've peed myself."

_Alright!_ Jo pushed herself off the ground and shook her head, "yeah, well, there won't be any throwing bricks or anything unless we get you guys back in your own bodies within twenty four hours." She informed them grimly. Noticing their facial expressions, Jo pointed a thumb towards the table where the spell book was, "It's more like a soul swap than a body swap."

"_Great._" Riley replied sarcastically as she pulled herself off the floor and sat on the edge of the bed.

"What I don't get is how the witch is still alive? You shot her, Jo. I checked to make sure she was dead," Jackson said, confused.

"That's what I'm saying, J! I don't know."

"Let me see the book," Riley said as she made a 'give me' motion with one of her hands. Jo nodded her head and took a few steps towards the table to grab the spell book and give it to her cousin. The room was quiet as Riley began to read over the pages that were marked, her brows rising and furrowing every few seconds. She was just about to tell Jo and Jackson that she had no damn clue what to do next, but a piece of red thread caught her eye. Her fingers followed it and noticed that it was being used as a bookmark in the spell book. She opened it to the specific page and her eyes widened. "I think I just figured out why the bitch isn't dead."

"Why?" Jackson asked.

"She used a spell, dumb ass." Jo said in realization. "Is there anyway to stop it?"

"Theres an incantation that needs to be spoken… I'm not exactly sure if we can be the ones who say it, but I don't think we have the time to hunt down a friendly witch within the next twenty four hours and tell them we need help killing a family member." Was Riley's reply. She shook her head and looked at her cousin, "we are screwed, aren't we?"

"Not yet. I'll give Ash a call. See if he can dig anything up on this," Jo said as she took the book out of Riley's hands and waved it in front of them. "You guys aren't dying on me yet."

Both of them nodded their head in appreciation and watched Jo walk outside to call the man with a mullet.

* * *

The clock was ticking. Riley and Jacks had a little under twelve hours to go before their time was up. Ash had somehow figured out that the incantation did not need to be said by a witch, _thank god_. But, they had to get in close to say it in order to cancel out the spell and kill the witch before she kills them. They also had to find the crazy bat. But, Ash had helped them with that too. The trio were now headed to an old unused building where the occult meetings were held over thirty years ago.

The three of them had walked together in silence. There was tension between Riley and Jo once again because Riley had brought up the topic of speaking to Ellen once again. As usual, Jo snapped back and told Riley to leave it be. Jo's mind was clouded with so many thoughts, she barely noticed that they've reached the building until Jackson announced it, "we're here."

"Gee, thanks tour guide," Riley muttered sarcastically. Jackson simply rolled his eyes and checked his gun before shoving it back in the lower back of his jeans.

Even though Riley and Jackson had switched bodies, Jo had been able to tell the difference between them without a second glance. She felt a small smirk tug her lips as she pulled out the paper with the incantation written on it.

"You ready?" Riley asked, looking at Jo.

Jo simply nodded her head and kicked open the door like it was nothing. She heard Jackson snort and mock whisper to her cousin, "that was _so_ bad ass."

"Shut it, J."

They froze at what was in front of them. There were spell work all over the cement floors and walls, not to mention the hundred freaking candles that lit up the joint. In the center of the room and surrounded by candles sat Adrienne, who was clearly in a trance. Her eyes were rolled back and her mouth was agape. They spared glances at one another and Riley gave Jo a nod to start reading the incantation.

Jo quietly unfolded the paper that she pulled out of her back pocket and began to mutter the words quietly. Jackson and Riley both pulled out their guns and aimed it at Adrienne waiting for the crazy bitch to pounce. Jo kept glancing up at the witch and then at her hunting partners while she read the incantation. She was trying to read quickly as possible so they can finally end this once and for all.

Jackson furrowed his brows when out of nowhere, there was a large gust of wind. He looked at the witch and noticed that she didn't even move a muscle. It was like Adrienne was oblivious to the world around her. He looked at Riley with confused eyes, "isn't she supposed to start shooting lightening strikes at us, or what?" Jackson didn't expected for this so go so smoothly because that was never the case when he and Riley were on a hunt.

Riley nodded her head, uncertain, "yeah, something is definitely up." She agreed with him. She glanced at Jo and noticed that she was more than half way through the incantation. There was a striking pain in her abdomen and Riley cried out and collapsed to the floor. It had felt like someone was shredding her body inside out. She barely noticed that Jackson was now in the same state as she was: on the floor and withering in excoriating pain.

Jo looked up from the paper, her eyes grew wide when she saw Jackson and Riley on the ground. She looked where the witch was supposed to be and quickly realized that she was no longer there. _Oh shit, oh shit._ Jo felt the wind growing stronger and then she heard the voice behind her.

Spinning around, Jo saw the witch; her eyes were still rolled behind her head and she wore a strange smile that wanted to make the Harvelle shiver. Jo realized that Adrienne was chanting yet another spell, probably one that was causing her two best friends to collapse on the ground. Her voice started rising with panic as she tried to finish the spell so they can put a bullet in this witch's head and unlike last time, she'll stay dead.

"It is too late, little one! It is too late!" Adrienne screamed with a manic smile.

Jo said the last line and glanced at Riley and Jackson, they weren't moving. Her eyes grew wide and with all the pent up anger that was boiling within her, Jo pulled out her gun and aimed it directly on Adrienne's forehead, "I _don't_ care."

She pressed the trigger and watched the witch's body crumple to the ground. Jo dropped her gun and ran towards her cousin and friend. She fell to her knees and shook Riley's body, "Riley? Jackson? Whoever the hell is in there, wake _up_!" Jo yelled. She moved to Jackson's body and did the same to him. A few frighteningly silent moments went by and Jo began to fear the worst. Just then, Jackson's body shot up and he inhaled a large breath, followed by Riley. They both looked at each other and then at Jo.

Jo stared at the pair with wide eyes. Jackson glanced around the room and noticed the dead witch on the floor about fifteen feet away from them. He nodded in improvement and looked at Jo with a very serious face, "did you kick her to check if she's dead?"

Riley only rolled her eyes and leaned over to give him a smack on the back of his head. "Yes, because nudging a supposed dead corpse with your foot gives you the best accurate results," she said sarcastically.

Jo could only smile in relief. They were _alive_ and back in their own bodies.

* * *

Jackson had decided he wanted to take a breather and go for a walk before he spent the next several hours stuck behind the wheel of his jeep. It was pretty obvious he was going to make another attempt with the waitress back at the diner. Riley had told him when they got back to the motel, that she and him would take a ride out to go see his father at the cabin in North Dakota.

It only left Riley and Jo in the motel room. They were both quietly folding their clothes and shoving them back into their duffles. Jo huffed out a sigh as she zipped up her bag and tossed it on the floor. She spun to face her cousin, "you were right." She stated.

Riley furrowed her brows in confusion as she stared at her cousin, "uh... about what, exactly?"

Jo was never one to admit that she was wrong about something. She was a stubborn son of a bitch like her cousin. She rolled her eyes and scoffed, "about everything... and that I'm not fine..."

"See? You admitted the problem. You just completed the next step of the twelve step program. Damn, I should buy a pack of stickers to reward you." Riley wisecracked.

Jo let her eyes roll and a smirk appeared on her lips. Riley wasn't the type of person that would rub it in someone's face that she was right or tell them 'I told you so,' that was more of Jo's forte. "I know you and J are headed to North Dakota to go talk to Eric, but you think you can drop me off home? I gotta talk to mom."

Riley smiled and nodded her head, "of course, Jo."

"You know, I think I understand why you and mom worry so much..." At Riley's confused look, Jo continued, "there was a split moment where I thought you and J were dead... the witch said that it was too late and when I looked in your direction, you and Jackson were out cold and from my view, you looked..."

"Dead," Riley finished. "You thought me and J were dead?"

Jo nodded her head, "I know that day is going to come for all of us. I mean—living like this, you can't expect to die peacefully in your sleep at the age of ninety, you know? But that feeling I had when I thought you were gone... I never want to feel like that. And I think that's why you and mom freaked when I chose to hunt. Because unlike me, you know what that feeling is."

"I'm not going anywhere, Jo," Riley said determinedly. "Neither is Aunt Ellen and neither is J. You aren't leaving anytime soon either." Riley was so relieved that Jo had finally admitted her feelings about everything that has been going on over the past couple of weeks. The two brothers crossed her mind and Riley decided to test the waters,"Jo, about the Winchesters..."

Riley watched Jo close her eyes and huff out a sigh, "I know they didn't know about dad, but... it still hurts, you know?" Jo deeply regretted how she left off with Sam and Dean a few weeks ago. It wasn't fair to them because in truth, they had no idea about John's whereabouts. Sam and Dean weren't their father and her outburst was misplaced anger she felt for their father. But then again... nobody would ever know the true story of what happened the night of Bill's death because the only two men who could tell the story were now dead.

Jo had to face it... She had to get over it and move on.

* * *

They were headed to North Dakota. Riley and Jackson had spent countless hours at the little cabin that Eric Hallowell owned. It was basically home for Jackson. They had gotten back to the roadhouse to drop Jo off so she can apologize to her mother and Jackson offered to drive there, both he and Riley hopped inside the blue jeep and made their way to North Dakota.

The car ride was slow and Jackson wasn't sure whether or not it was because there was actually some traffic on the backroads they usually take to get to the cabin or if he was afraid of what he might find. He glanced at Riley, who was staring out the passenger side window and felt relief course through his body. At least she would be there.

"He's fine, J" Riley said as she turned her head to face him.

Jackson shook his head, "you don't know that…"

"He's got the John Winchester habit of not checking in," Riley replied, not missing a beat. "Come on, he's gone longer than this without contact and he was always fine." She pointed out. Jackson forced himself to nod his head in acceptance and he grabbed Riley's hand and squeezed. A small smile crept on her lips and she squeezed back.

Riley loved Jackson like a little brother. Him and his father were like family and she had promised Eric a long time ago that she would always have Jack's back. She leaned her head on his shoulder and let out a sigh as she watched the scenery whoosh right by her.

A little while later, they pulled up to the cabin that was pretty isolated from civilization. Jackson tossed her the key to the front door and nodded for her to get out, "I gotta go park the jeep. Just let yourself inside and watch out for my dad." He warned.

Still half asleep and with a stiff neck, Riley opened the passenger door and headed for the porch. She felt a smile tugging on her lips when the memory of teaching Jackson how to shoot cans crossed her mind. Her dad had dropped her off at the Hallowell cabin for the weekend to spend time with Jacks. That particular weekend, Jacks was determined to learn how to shoot. Long story short: Eric was not very happy when he and Brian returned back to the cabin to see the windows shattered due to Jackson's horrible aim. There were still bullets stuck in the panels of the front of the house that Eric couldn't pull out. She opened the front door and immediately got the whiff of a familiar horrid stench. Riley slowly walked inside and noticed there was a letter addressed to Jackson was placed on the napkin holder on the table. Covering her nose with her sleeve to try and block the smell, she picked up the envelope. A figure on the the left caught her eye and when she turned around, her eyes widened.

Riley took a few hesitant steps closer and recognized the figure as Eric Hallowell. His body was ripped and torn into shreds and dried blood surrounded him. His body looked like it was here for a while…

Her eyes watered at the sight of a man she practically considered an uncle. Jackson's father was dead. _Murdered_. And if she had to guess what did this, she would say hellhounds. But…_how_?

She heard Jackson talking from the porch steps. Letting out a little sob, she grabbed the letter and pushed him out the door. No way in hell was she going to let Jackson see his father like that. He frowned and stared at Riley in confusion. His expression dropped and his face fell flat when he saw tears streaking her cheeks. He swallowed nervously, "Riley?"

The young Harvelle took a shaky breath and shook her head, "no, J." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "No."

Jackson's heart pounded in his chest. "Where's my father?" He asked, fear growing because he had a feeling that he knew what exactly was in the Hallowell cabin.

Riley swallowed the knot in her throat and took in her best friend's expression, he already knew what she was going to tell him, but he clung onto the hope that his dad was fine and cleaning out his guns like he usually did. "He's inside."

Jackson's eyes already began to water and Riley watched him put on a smile, "great. Let's go see him then." He was persistent and in denial. He tried to move past Riley and go inside the cabin, but Riley pushed him back and got in his way once again.

"Jackson…" Riley's voice broke softly as she called to him.

The young man she considered a little brother just shook his head. "No. He's fine," he said to Riley, practically begging her to say that it was the truth. "He was _fine_!" His voice rose slightly.

Riley's face crumpled and she placed the letter in his now shaking hands. "I am so _sorry_, Jacks," she whispered to him. He looked at her completely broken and took the envelope out of her hand. Jackson ripped it open and read his father's words to him. His eyes grew wide and tears slipped down his flushed cheeks. Jackson dropped his hands to his sides and looked at Riley, "my dad _sold his soul_ for me." He stated softly.

Riley's eyes widened as she stared at Jackson, "…what?" She breathed.

Jackson shook his head, so many emotions and thoughts racing through his mind. "I didn't just hit my head when the demon that possessed my mom pushed me down the stairs, Riley…" he said to her. His voice broke, "I was _dying_." He was growing hysterical, "my dad went to _hell_ for me!" Riley pulled him to her and squeezed him as tight as she could. He let out a loud cry of grief. There were so many emotions running through Jackson: sadness, grief, guilt, anger… ten years ago, his mother had died after a demon possessed her and his father sold his soul to save his only son.

Now, everything made so much more sense—why Eric pushed for Jackson to start spending time and hunt with Riley. He wanted to prepare him for when he was gone. Jackson didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. He just remembered his father constantly checking his watch and glancing around the cabin nervously. Eric had given him the pendant that night and told him to guard it with his life. Looking back at it now, Jackson realized that his father had done something strange; he had pulled his son into a hug and told him how proud he was of the man he'd become and to keep fighting. Jackson didn't realize what he was doing until now.

It was a father telling his son goodbye.

* * *

**So… comments anyone? I know. I'm kind of evil with delivering you all such a funny/happy chapter and then you guys get hit with this terrible ending. This ending was so difficult to write and I had kept revising and revising it for freaking ever! So I hope I got the emotion on paper… PWEASE LEAVE ME A FLIPPIN REVIEW. I really hope you enjoyed the scenes between Riley and Jackson! Their adventures together can get pretty bizarre. It was so fun to write those scenes and I'm definitely going to try and fit more in the upcoming chapters that Jackson features in! He is such a fun character and he is going to have a hard time dealing after the big bomb that was dropped on him at the end of the chapter. ALSO, we are half way through with this story! Crazy eh? There's about six or seven more chapters, depending if I separate one chapter. Thanks for sticking with me guys! Love you all!**


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